Fiesta del Sol y las Estrellas
by Mr Felidae
Summary: We follow the interesting lives of the Jaquins, starting during the liberation of Avalor from Shuriki up to a week after. Set mainly in Vallestrella and partially in Avalor, this story introduces a total of eight new members to the Jaquin clan. Members that don't appear in the series but play a vital role nonetheless, and even they have fascinating lives! I welcome you to find out.
1. Old habits

DISCLAIMER: I do not own, fully or partially, the _Elena of Avalor_ series. Also, I am not affiliated with its creation in any way. Additional disclaimer information is provided where needed.

Author's note: Please visit my profile and read the _Fiesta del Sol y las Estrellas – fun facts_ section to learn some interesting things about this story. I am thankful to all who will review my story; I will read and reply to them, since reviews may improve my writing skills, a good thing both for your pleasure and mine! :)

_Skylar and Nico spend time in Vallestrella and are to undertake something together, of which Luna thinks otherwise._

* * *

The sun stands high in the blue sky. It has just reached its zenith and through its full visibility radiates light down on the many open plains forcefully. The few clouds that are drifting by peaceful aren't close to it. This complements the sun's brightness that would be overwhelming to the untrained eye. However, this brightness doesn't make today feel hot. It rather feels warm, cozy even. A likable temperature to which one could easily decide to do some sunbathing.

Down on the ground, the rays gently touch the surface of different lifeless things and lick the heads and backs of creatures living in one particular semi-open plain, one that is surrounded by jungles of loosely grouped trees. Across this plain loose trees are found also that endorse both space and the sun's rays. Around them, shrubs have formed in what seems like random patches. In between these patches, different species can be observed, each minding its own business.

Here and there Butterfrogs hover close to shrubs trying to find themselves food and shelter. They tend to remain close to bodies of water. They enter these, using their amphibian features, and remain there for the required duration to escape harm. Butterfrogs share their territory for the most part with Peabunnies which are found socialising in pairs or clump together in groups of six, in turn looking around attentively to spot threats. This species stays close to overgrown areas they can quickly hide under in case of threats, although they are capable of facial expressions that can certainly scare off a predator or two. Close to the Peabunnies a group of five Flaringos is foraging in a riverbed. This species looks like flamingos but has four giraffe-like legs and seems to live life carefree. A little further away a herd of up to eight Veloz Ciervos roam the plain at incredible speeds, never seeming to be standing still. It's an antelope herbivore and supreme sprinter on open and semi-open plains, able to outrun any other species in mere seconds. They run past some rocky formations where a novel species lives that's capable of flight and is called Opocrane, a cross between the woolly opossum and the crested crane. This species seldom encounters Jaquins as they are not only nocturnal but also utilise existing underground burrows for shelter as well as nesting purposes. Further down, in the lower canopy of a group of packed trees beside the rocky formations, live seven Spinkeys. They are black-headed spider monkey with eight eyes in its head granting it an all-around vision, and they observe each member of the passing herd of Veloz Ciervos in great detail. This species lives reclusive with up to 10 individuals in a group, away from most other species they seldom come in contact with.

However, Vallestrella doesn't have many flying species that dare seek high altitudes. At least during the day, that is. This area belongs to the Jaquin, the apex predator of the skies which they use to cover large distances. Even so, Jaquins are omnivorous and have a diet that ranges from meat to berries, sometimes a mixture of both simultaneously. Thus there are some species that share the skies with them, albeit on different altitudes and at different times of day…

On the open plain, one of the Butterfrogs close to a shrub suddenly becomes startled. A flash of something dark just moved passed it quickly. It glances at some terrain features around itself at first and then looks up into the sky. There it finds two slender silhouettes bearing wings shooting across it at an astonishing pace. Their wings are flapping quickly to keep building momentum. "I am gaining on you, bro!", the silhouette in pursuit of the other yells across the plains.

"Haha, not a chance!" the other yells in return.

The voices, as well as the silhouettes, belong to two Jaquins. Both keep trying to increase their speed even further. "I am going to win it this time, Nico!" the first yells confident.

"We will see about that!" Nico replies thrilled.

Both Jaquins are rushing towards a loosely standing tree, a tall one that easily catches one's eyes from up in the sky. Just as the two boys are turning around the lower canopy of this tall tree to head back the way they came, the Jaquin in the lead suddenly makes an odd manoeuvre. He quickly makes a sharp left turn away from the tree and pitches upward, gaining himself altitude. His face shows anxiety that's quickly replaced with amazement. Nico startles by his brother's action and slows down. It now comes to his attention his brother was avoiding something. "Whoa! Take it easy, Skylar! Rushing like that makes you bump into something one day." a female voice says startled.

"Or _someone_. Hi, Luna!" Nico says filled with joy.

"Luna!' Skylar says excitedly and flies around the tree once to bleed off speed, 'Haha, that was fun, bro!"

Skylar goes to hover next to Nico and they give each other a high five using their wing followed by boxing paws. "Almost flown into you there, Luna! Where did you come from all so sudden?" Skylar asks enthusiastically.

"Like I said. If you fly that fast you miss out on the details… which makes me think you two are preparing for the speed race." Luna says smirking.

"Right you are!" Nico yells of excitement.

Skylar says right after Nico: "Yeah, we are! This time Nico and I will be winning it."

Luna frowns while turning her head away a little and replies: "You better not keep thinking that."

Nico looks confused and asks: "Why?"

Skylar immediately changes from being confused to becoming excited: "Wait. Are _you_ racing, too?"

Luna winks at them: "Sure I am!"

"Awesome, haha!' Skylar responds enthusiastically and performs a backward volley, 'Yes! This is gonna be an epic race!"

Nico has a grand smile on his face hearing Skylar and Luna speak so excitedly, and says while becoming filled excitement now as well: "The others will be no match for us! Right, big bro?"

"Right." Skylar says and laughs and starts fluttering due to the build-up excitement within.

"Skylar…' Luna starts with a more serious tone and both Skylar and Nico start looking questioningly, 'I came here not to talk about the race. I – came to say king Verago wants a word with you."

"Dad?' Skylar asks surprised and looks appalled now, 'Aww, Luna. You just spoiled the fun…"

"I know. Sorry, Skylar." Luna says comfortingly.

Nico steps in: "So, what does dad want from Skylar?"

"He better tell you in person." Luna says looking Skylar straight into his eyes.

"Ow, this is something serious…" Skylar says slow and uncertainty starts radiating from his face.


	2. New faces - part 1

_Seven new members have joined the Jaquin clan in Vallestrella: three late juveniles called Veje, Dióntan, and Sienté; one early juvenile called Avira; a late male-female couple consisting of Tudor and Shaniqua; and a cub called Kamil. Now they need to mark their place within the clan, each of them doing this in his or her own way. How will this work out for all of them?_

* * *

While Skylar, Nico, and Luna head back toward the Palace altogether, two other Jaquins are making conversation. They both are females, one early juvenile and the other a late one almost reaching adolescence. "I am happy to receive you as my trainee, Avira. To be honest you are my first ever trainee. But no need to worry. I understand your mother wants you to gain a better understanding of edible and medicinal herbs and plants, as part of your training in becoming a Soothsayer like myself. This, I can certainly teach you! It is what I am known for, after all.' the late juvenile says calm and shows a friendly smile, 'We will have some good times together. In time you will get to know _me_ better, and your future role of Soothsayer. I am looking forward to getting to know you better as well."

Avira, the young juvenile she is, watches the other Jaquin having an unassured look on her face. She observes the other Jaquin closely, seeing a beige fur on body and face, the latter being slender in build surrounded with lemon yellow feathers, also found on the wingtips and the heel of all four legs. Her body displays a lemon yellow pattern of smooth heart-shaped rosettes. *Sienté is gentle. I like to be with her. She makes me feel secure.* Avira thinks.

Avira's posture betrays her being a little anxious still. After a short moment of silence, she says back hesitantly: "I want… to learn from you, Sienté. That is what – my mother said I could do best."

"Good. It seems your mother is a giver of good advice. I hope you like learning because there is a lot I can teach you, and there is a lot to be taught if you want to become like me one day." Sienté says with a friendly smile to calm the early juvenile's nerves down.

"Yes, maestra." the young Jaquin replies cautious and slow.

"Well, first things first!' Sienté suddenly says louder with her voice full of enthusiasm, 'You need to loosen up. If you want to learn you need to open up your mind first. With that mentality you are having now learning might prove difficult. Alright, let us soar the skies and just relax for a bit. Come on!"

Sienté spreads her wings and takes to flight. The young juvenile hesitantly watches Sienté climb higher before deciding to do the same. While climbing after Sienté she looks around feeling nervous still. Suddenly her eyes gaze upon the sight of a Jaquin making two fairly large loopings in the sky. *I wonder why Dióntan is doing this. Oh… and Tudor is with him. That might explain a few things. But if Dióntan is around, usually his brother is, too.* she thinks watching both boys seemingly fool around.

"Aha! I know what you are doing! You do not fool me this time!" Tudor shouts at Dióntan while chasing him.

Tudor flawlessly moves through the sky, making barrel rolls doing so as he tries to out-manoeuvre Dióntan. This is something he always loved doing: performing stunts while flying, making others giggle and laugh when things wouldn't go the way he'd planned. This background of his makes Tudor quite the agile flyer at high speeds. Unfortunately, Dióntan knows manoeuvres of his own through which he can avoid Tudor. This makes the game of tag last for quite some time now. "Come on, Tudor! Make an attempt to tag Dióntan!" a female voice yells.

The female watches Tudor closely. She observes him, and his spring green and slender body bearing roundel rosettes consisting of two concentric blue rings, of which the outer is high blue and the inner being indigo, accentuating it. His spring green heels are decorated with high blue feathers, as is his fan-shaped tail tip. His nose is a little more elongated than that of other Jaquins and the face is narrow shaped, with the cheek feathers also being high blue. "Yeah, Tudor!' Dióntan adds excited, 'I just need to keep avoiding you for a little moment longer. It is easy outflying you, haha!"

"You just wait!' Tudor yells back, 'Before you know it victory is mine!"

Suddenly the female hears her name being shouted from a distance, though in a calm and controlled manner. She looks to where the shout came from. Left from her she notices a dark brown Jaquin approaching her. Giving him a better look she needs correcting herself on his fur colour. From afar she always mistakes his actual colour with dark brown. *Really! Why do I keep making this mistake over and over? Just something I cannot seem to correct myself in…* she thinks somewhat frustrated while keeping her eyes on him.

However, she's right on the dark brown colour, albeit it being the feathers around his heels and broad cheeks, as well as the tip of his wings. His fur colour, however, is rose taupe and is covered with dark brown roses making up the pattern across his body, slender and elongated that would fit a female's build more. Despite this, he has broad cheeks that usually go with a bulky body. "Hey, look who decides to show up eventually! Last as always, Veje." she says.

Veje, being that rose taupe Jaquin, gently glides towards Shaniqua at a comfortable speed. Not too slow and certainly not too fast. Like he does more often, which one would describe as dawdling. He lands close to the female who already looks back up at the two boys chasing each other still. "Yeah… I had some business in the Palace. Otherwise, I would be here early, Shaniqua." Veje says.

Now that Veje came close to Shaniqua he sees her sitting idle but almost graciously as a queen would. Gracious, since her body is slender build in such a way the contours really show off when sitting. Her chest is small with a slightly sunken belly though not looking unhealthy. In that respect, she looks much like Luna. The clear difference lies with her fur colour being violet bearing pink five-pointed star-shaped rosettes. That same colour is also found on her tail tip, as well as the feathers on her heels, wings, and cheeks. "No, then you would be late still." Shaniqua says in a calm tone while giving him a questioning look.

She knows she's right while thinking about it. Never has she witnessed Veje doing something rather quick. Also, totally unlike his brother or Skylar, Veje rather not stands in the spotlights. He has a laid-back and timid personality instead. Both these thoughts make her giggle a little, while mildly shaking her head doing so.

At the same time, Sienté has her wings spread. She's high in the sky but well below the clouds, letting herself glide on the thermodynamics that today seems more present. *Ideal for my plan…* she thinks.

She looks back at the young juvenile in pursuit. Avira's just behind Sienté, who eyes at her own wings followed by a nod and a friendly smile. The young juvenile goes to try and mimic Sienté. She slows down her wing flapping and spreads them slowly the way her "maestra" has them spread. She starts getting the hang of it and notices she remains at the same altitude as Sienté. Eventually, both are gliding through the sky at an easy pace, ensuring a calming effect on wings, body, and mind. Avira starts feeling more at ease now, understanding that this can very well be her first lesson. Sienté asks the young female using a reserved tone of voice: "Tell me now, what do you see around you?"

"Ow, eh… Let me see – from up here…' she says hesitantly of surprise from that sudden question, 'I see… Dióntan. He is below us, and pretty present down there."

"Too present if you ask me.' Sienté replies condescendingly, 'Veje makes for better company."

At this point, she notices not only that Dióntan's looking their way, he's also approaching them. He flies in a straight line towards them at a hasty pace. Sienté knows this might ruin her plan. Together Dióntan and Tudor are annoying to others, mainly because Dióntan's easily galvanised by Tudor. *They always fuel each other in words and before anyone knows, insults are made. Insults through those stupid jokes of Tudor.* she thinks at the sight of Tudor following Dióntan towards her and Avira.

Sienté knows Avira's not entirely the confident type of Jaquin, not like Skylar, Luna or Dióntan at all. She eyes Avira well to detect how she's reacting to this all. She reminds herself how much she likes the juvenile Jaquin's colours. Avira has a tangerine orange fur covered with a lemon yellow pattern of round but open rosettes. Her wingtips, as well as her cheeks and heel on all four legs, feathers that are lemon yellow also.

Realising Avira might look pretty, her personality is certainly not suited for this moment. Sienté quickly tries to position herself in between Dióntan and Avira. Unfortunately, Dióntan comes in faster than she'd anticipated. He beats Sienté to it and before she knows it he hovers in between her and Avira. Looking at the latter he says: "Hey, girls… Avira! Saw you two up here. What ar…"

"Tag! Got you!" Tudor shouts excited as he touches Dióntan's hip during his fly-by. He makes a gracious half-barrel roll and half a volley to end up hovering next to Dióntan.

Dióntan startles at first as he didn't expect Tudor to have followed him up here. However, he recovers quickly and says: "Nope! We were done a moment ago."

"I was not done yet!" Tudor says excited still.

"Yes, we were.' Dióntan says and excitingly adds, 'Face it, you lost, haha!"

Tudor replies with less excitement: "Face it, I am going to win that race!… Hey Avira, you here? I did not recognise you through that sour look on that face. Oh wait, that _is_ your normal face…"

Dióntan cannot suppress laughter escaping him: "Haha! Oh…"

"What… No – I… That is no…" Avira stutters out of insecurity and slowly silences as she speaks.

"Tudor! Will you just stop those idiotic jokes of yours! Go annoy someone else, go annoy your little brother!' Sienté replies mad and startles Dióntan when addressing him, 'Dióntan, stop spurring him with your laughter! His jokes are not funny. Not at all!"

"That was – funny." Dióntan replies reluctantly trying to justify his laughter.

Sienté firmly replies: "Shut that mouth, both of you, and keep it shut! Come, Avira. These boys are not worth our time."

Sienté turns around, her face still expressing anger, and starts flying away from Dióntan and Tudor. Avira quickly glances at Tudor and then at Dióntan. Tudor is giggling still, but Dióntan seems pitiful and looks at her with remorse radiating from his eyes. Avira is unsure about his motivation still. *He laughed at me… and is now – ashamed?* she thinks doubtful looking into his eyes while he looks back into hers.

She notices how his eyes belong to a round, azure blue face accentuated by deep red feathers on his cheeks and wingtips. His azure blue fur coat holds a deep red pattern of aquatic wave-like rosettes. Then she decides to turn around as well. Without saying anything she starts pursuing Sienté. Dióntan remains hovering following them up with his eyes…


	3. New faces - part 2

_King Verago has a word with Skylar. He must face decisions as his way of living is about to change, along with that of his close friends. Migs, however, intervenes with king Verago about Skylar, while Tudor is confronted with his behaviour…_

* * *

About this time Skylar, Luna, and Nico arrive at the Palace. From afar they can easily spot it, standing out from the rest of its environment through its colour and size. It's made out of stone bearing a sienna brown appearance and found on top of a double level platform foundation that consists of the same material. It has four pikes spiralling upward. The middle one, also the largest of all, has two entrances above each other, with the upper one being much smaller but big enough still to allow three Jaquins to fly through it simultaneously. Two streams of water flow from beside the bottom entrance of the Palace, where one splits into two streams. Each stream makes it down onto the rocks below through a small waterfall, where they form some sort of moat surrounding the Palace. Legend has it this structure once was a lone mountain, which was carved out on the inside by the first generation of Jaquins to function as a place of shelter, being modified and decorated in later times.

Skylar, Luna, and Nico enter the bottom entrance and fly through an elongated and grand hallway. It has round columns made from the same material as the outer wall. They stand along the centre line of the hallway in symmetrical pairs from beginning to end, decorated with lianas holding colourful flowers as they reach all the way up to support the roof which is high above them. Both walls on each side hold a raised and narrow walkway, each with an overgrown parapet. Each walkway has a few Jaquins sitting or lying on them comfortably. Underneath these walkways, open arches are found. Each of them leads to a different room, most of them meant for food storage. Having flown through the grand hall the three Jaquins arrive in the round throne room. This room is far broader but the roof near the walls is half the height of the one from the hallway and supported by columns also. The roof in the middle of the throne room spirals up extending to twice the height of the hallway itself. It narrows down toward the top much like a tower does but without floors to separate its spacious interior.

Together they approach a raised floor, from which one stands elevated to oversee the entire throne room and everyone inside it, on which a throne is built; it stands tall and is entirely made of the same stone the Palace is. On that throne, they see Skylar and Nico's father Verago, king of the Jaquins. He sits on it gracefully. Verago lets his eyes go through the crowded room. Finally, he fixates on one Jaquin: his eldest son. "Skylar." Verago says unmoved as the three of them touch down in front of him.

Mumbling inside the throne room dies down largely now Verago started to speak, eyes looking at him filled with great curiosity. "Ehm. Hi, dad. What – is going on?" Skylar carefully asks.

Verago looks his eldest son in the eyes with a serious look. Skylar and Luna feel as if punishment will follow suit. "I have good news. For all of us, and especially for you." Verago says.

"Well, I did not see this coming." Luna whispers filled with surprise.

"Luna, Nico. What I am about to say will also impact both of you." Verago says unmoved still.

"Wait, what?" both Nico and Luna reply confused.

Both radiate confusion, Nico from his face and Luna from her posture. "So, this is not just about Skylar? I see now why you wanted me _and_ them in here." she adds.

Verago nods slightly at her remark. He looks intrinsically at all three now. "The reason why I brought you here is twofold. First, chief Zephyr informed me well on this. Elena, crown princess of Avalor, has been freed from captivity.' Verago says and continues after some relieved sighs and surprised gasps sound across the throne room, 'I do not know all of the details yet but one thing is certain: Shuriki has been defeated."

The moment Verago spoke those last words some cheers are heard throughout the throne room. These, however, are quickly followed by bursts of both cheerful shouts and celebration noises as all Jaquins present become joyous of the good news Verago just brought them. Nico also starts cheering as well, quickly followed by Skylar doing the very same. Verago sits gracefully before his throne and looks around bearing a huge smile due to this important victory, but also because of everyone reaching a state of euphoria. Some Jaquins cheer with their wings and front paws extended, while others start flying across the throne room. When Verago clears his throat loudly all Jaquins take their places once more and the cheerful sounds die down. "Also, this means I can now officially state that Avalor is freed from a reign of terror with the aid from us Jaquins…"

Without seemingly being affected by Skylar's outburst, Verago continues his speech: "It is important we retain close bonds with the royal family of Avalor now that they will be restored to power. No longer do we wish to see an evil power take over a kingdom… Therefore we must ensure Avalor becomes a safe place once more, and I want to see that safety preserved."

"Wow, dad!' Skylar says and cheers once more briefly, 'This is great! Avalor forever freed from that evil sorceress! What was her name?… Anyway, yeah! Finally, things go back to normal after such a long time." Skylar responds excitedly.

Verago nods slowly: "Yes, we sure had a tough battle against Shuriki! It took us a long time indeed. A very long time, but only so because she used powerful magic we were vulnerable against. We had no other option than to resort to guerrilla battles to strike blows into her strategy and corrupted reign over Avalor."

Skylar finds a moment to step in and prevent his father from ranting any further over Shuriki's devastating actions. "Dad, that was all? I mean, it is good to hear Shuriki is defeated and Avalor is safe once more. But… you know, there will be a speed race soon and Nico and I are training really hard now!" he asks joyous still.

"Second,' Verago continues looking Skylar straight in the eyes and ignoring his request, 'we came to an agreement. With "we" I mean the grandparents of Elena. They have decided, together with our loyal friend there, Esteban, to take rulership over Avalor now that they, too, have been freed. Unfortunately, we can no longer ask this from the – former king and queen of Avalor. They… lost their lives during the invasion of Shuriki as you well might know. However, since Elena is the crown princess of Avalor and soon is to become queen, I have decided it is of good interest to keep close ties with her. Skylar, you are the crown prince of Vallestrella. Therefore I have chosen you as our representative member of the clan to maintain ties with Elena."

Nico gasps of surprise hearing his big brother is going to fulfill an important role. It fills him with both joy and uncertainty. "Does this mean… Skylar will be gone for a long time, dad?" he carefully asks.

"Skylar… on a diplomatic mission?" Luna asks reluctant and frowns.

She clearly shows doubt over Verago's decision to appoint Skylar to such an important role in the relationship between Vallestrella and Avalor, considering the juvenile temptations Skylar's easily influenced by.

"The time has come for Skylar to grow more mature, I agree. He has a lot to learn still and I doubt not that he will.' Verago says smiling at Skylar, 'I have confidence in you, my son. After all, it is only royal of me to have Elena supported by another royal member. If you want to aid Elena the best you can you do need to grow less juvenile and more mature. Therefore, your presence at the side of Zephyr in Avalor is required where you will become a Guardian of Avalor."

"You are really sending him to Avalor?" Nico asks surprised still and a little sad also.

Verago nods once. The look on his face implies he gives Nico no reason to argue over his decision. He invigorates this by curtly replying: "Yes, Nico…"

Before Verago can continue, however, Skylar beats him to it and says with a voice full with enthusiasm: "Haha, I am going to become the best Guardian!"

Verago ignores Skylar. He uses a calm voice to continue explaining himself: "You are to undergo rigorous training, Skylar. Tomorrow you will go there and seek out chief Zephyr. When you go through the portal, a Jaquin will be waiting for you there. He will guide you to Zephyr. It is someone chief Zephyr speaks highly of. He is the current Navegera, and thus your trainer. His name is Cruz and…"

"Cruz!" Skylar and Luna simultaneously shout uncontrollably and thereby interrupting Verago.

"He is a great friend!" Skylar says excitedly.

"Yeah, and good-looking…" Luna adds whispering while blushing slightly.

"Good.' Verago says a curtly for being interrupted and looks at all three once, 'Now this is clear to all of you… Skylar, go prepare yourself. As I said, tomorrow you will enter the portal and find Cruz. Together you will go see chief Zephyr. Make sure to listen to both of them well. Do so and you will make me more proud even! Now, if you will excuse me, I have an audience to hold…"

Verago steps back onto his throne and sits down gracefully. He no longer looks at either Skylar, Luna or Nico, but instead looks straight ahead toward the Palace's entrance. Together Skylar, Luna, and Nico turn around and take to flight to leave the Palace. When they are out of sight Verago sighs as a thought crosses his mind: *I hope Skylar will _listen_. Not just to me, but in particular to chief Zephyr. He knows best. It is, after all, in the best interest of both us Jaquins and the royal family of Avalor. From now on he needs to maintain the relationship with Avalor. It is an important task, but one I know he can… no, he must fulfill.*

It takes but a brief moment after Skylar, Luna and Nico have disappeared from his sight that Migs appears. He arrives at the moment Verago starts his audience, which he regularly holds. This way Jaquins can make requests or speak their minds on things they like to discuss. Migs approaches Verago and goes to sit in front of him and starts speaking after Verago nods at him: "I like to ask something of you, king Verago. Veje seems to have developed a habit of bringing in his quota late. Today is no different I am afraid."

Verago seems doubtful: "That is true. Do not forget he is consistent in his actions, despite that dawdling nature of his. Yet he has never failed to reach his quota."

"That I do not doubt. He is and likely will remain a high standard of loyalty towards you, King Verago. In that, I see a perfect timing for me to make an inquiry." Migs states confidently.

Verago looks at Migs questioningly: "I am all ears."

"If I may I want to request taking Veje with me on my hunt. He can still do this now the window for a hunt is at an optimum. I want to provide him with this opportunity. He is unlike every royal guard, who is husky build and able to lead a hunt, like me. Only Veje is not such a Jaquin.' Migs says confidently subsequently looking away for a second and continues at a serious tone of voice, 'Though I will question not how you decided to make him one of them. All I want is for him to understand the importance of a hunt. Perhaps he will feel even more a royal guard after having experienced one… Oh, and one more thing, king Verago. I heard Veje has not yet reached his quota for today. In order to reach it still, joining my hunt will secure this for him."

Verago smiles at Migs. His gentle look comforts Mig and takes a more relaxed posture while remaining in a sitting position. "I must thank you for the care you provide and the trust you place in others. Always trying to make everyone fit into the clan the way you see fit. Migs, that is perhaps your most outstanding trait and the most important one for the clan. I am always glad to have you around. You have my thanks!' Verago says to which Migs smiles and then bows his head little when hearing this compliment, 'Yet, I must ask of you one thing. I will accept your request for taking Veje with you, on one condition. Take Skylar with you, as well. I want him to grow more mature and a hunt is perfect to learn more on responsibility."

Migs nods hearing Verago's words but remains motionless when hearing about Skylar. He hesitates at first which clearly shows. Then he smiles once more and says: "Agreed. Once Skylar learnt some important things he will no doubt make a better prince and heir. I will make it so. Thank you for accepting my request, king Verago."

Meanwhile, Tudor's on his way to see Shaniqua. He wants to find her in their nest so he can consume a meal together with her. Halfway there, however, he's stopped in his tracks by Dióntan who starts flying in front of him to slow him down. "Yo, Tudor! I heard some members of the clan want to speak with you about your jokes!", Dióntan says excited of having found Tudor.

"Hehe, finally! They are getting my jokes! I feel I always need to…' Tudor says seemingly relieved but changes his tone of voice rapidly, 'Wait, who is 'they'?"

Dióntan looks confused by Tudor's reply and frowns thinking: *I cannot fathom why he _thinks_ that. That is not even what I meant!*

Dulce, who was following Dióntan, now arrives as well. She was able to overhear Tudor's reply. "Hello, Tudor. I came along with Dióntan to talk with you, and I will get to it right away. You see, the point of being nice, or pretending for that part,' Dulce says firm but calm, 'is to not say hurtful things to others when thoughts telling you this enter your mind."

Dióntan quickly adds: "He has a thick skull. Might take some time before what you just said gets in there… You know, like a day or – three."

"Hehe, you are not good at jokes, Dióntan. Unlike you, I mastered that skill." Tudor says confidently.

Dulce shakes her head and replies: "This is what I mean about those thoughts."

Tudor grins: "Me too. Dióntan should consider if what he says really are jokes."

"_She_, Tudor,' Dióntan states harsh, 'is referring to _you_!"

Tudor looks at Dulce disapprovingly: "I was being honest – for once."

Even though Dulce just told him he should take heed with his jokes and imply resistance to his own cause, Tudor's still filled with righteousness that propels his motivation, absolving him of guilt toward those he jokes on, assuring himself he does just. A right thing to do in complementing his inner self…


	4. New faces - part 3

_Luna, Sienté, Shaniqua are making conversation about Kamil and another Jaquin. Dulce's troubled and needs a word of advice. Meanwhile, Migs is inviting some Jaquins, including Skylar, to join his cause…_

* * *

While the three of them are talking over containing Tudor's jokes, Luna, Sienté, and Shaniqua sit together near the Palace. They often do, as female Jaquins tend to form cliques every now and then to make small talk and do some gossip.

This time, however, is different. The females sit in a circle facing each other. They are busy making small talk on one Jaquin in particular: Tudor's little brother Kamil. He happens to sit in between them. Shaniqua took him with her. All of the females are mollified over him. They cannot stop looking at, and also talk about, him. The urge to stare at him is simply irresistible, hence Kamil is a cub. His large eyes, his round and fluffy head in comparison to his small body make many a female lovingly stare at him and become overwhelmed with mellow emotions. They find him utterly adorable with his cayenne red feathers covering his cheeks, heels, and wings, and a saffron fur covered with a pattern of cayenne red puffy rounded clouds, looking like cumulus clouds with both a rounded top and bottom. On his turn, Kamil acts relaxed, enjoying himself with all the attention he's receiving, which he got used to by now.

The three females keep making small talk until Luna sees Sienté looking distracted as if something occupies her mind. "What is on your mind, girl?" she asks in a confident manner.

Sienté hesitates a little: "Uh, me? Ow… I – I was just reminding myself of wanting someone to become my boyfriend."

Shaniqua becomes excited and says full of enthusiasm: "Ooh, tell us! Tell us who it is!"

Sienté: "Well, I do not know yet. I want to figure out… Eh, I – am looking for someone who is not as extremely energetic as Skylar and not as… highly confident as Dióntan."

Luna seems to wonder and frowns: "That… leaves quite some possibilities. So, who are you thinking of?"

Sienté shrugs and carefully says: "Honestly? The first name I thought of was… Tudor."

Changing her expression to happy, Shaniqua says excitedly: "Taken!"

"No regrets?' Luna immediately replies giving Shaniqua a teasing look, 'He can act like a loose stray, and he does not seem to care."

Shaniqua remains silent for second or two, visibly pondering. Luna and Sienté can clearly tell by her look. They aren't the first to confront Shaniqua with Tudor's misplaced jokes, and they won't be the last either. Shaniqua looks at Kamil for a second, who starts looking back at her with a grand smile on his face from the attention he's receiving. "No, not really. He is charming, and he likes to cuddle. We have been really close friends for a long time now… Oh, he is also doing great with Kamil! That is so sweet…' Shaniqua says while becoming overwhelmed by a romantic swoon, 'Oh, just thinking of him… He just is so cute. His eyes, the way he speaks and acts, hihi, and how he flies through the sky, so gracefully. He truly is my forever companion… even though his jokes can sometimes be inapp…"

"Sometimes?" Sienté replies curtly while frowning.

Both Sienté and Shaniqua start chuckling. Talking about boys this way is a favoured topic of theirs. Sometimes it's all they discuss during an afternoon. Luna doesn't join in on the chuckling, and the other two don't seem to notice. Luna isn't a female that sticks to conversations like this for very long. She decides to bring haste to this conversation. "So, get Tudor out of your mind. Ever thought about Cruz?' she says mellow and continues softly, 'He certainly is handsome!"

Sienté looks shaken, clearly taken by surprise when hearing that name. Somehow, Cruz hadn't sprung to mind yet. She releases a long enamoured sigh. "Yeah, he really is handsome. I would definitely make him my partner if the opportunity rises…"

"Paws off, girl! He called on him first." Luna states bluntly and smirks in a friendly way.

"Well, no matter how good that may sound, he _is_ the Navegera and will probably be very busy. Besides, he is in Avalor and we are here in Vallestrella, let me remind you." Shaniqua comments in a shun way.

"True… You know, Dióntan has a brother. What do you think of him?" Luna continues her interrogation with Sienté toward a suitable partner.

"You mean – Veje?" Sienté replies clearly aloof over him.

*I have no idea what to think of Veje. One way, he acts distant as he addresses others when being addressed, yet he makes for fine company. I just do not know…* she thinks.

"Ooh…' Shaniqua says and again chuckles, 'Clearly she is giving him a thought."

Sienté chuckles nervously: "Eh, yeah. I… Well, I do not really know how to say this… Does he truly do anything throughout the day? I mean, he dawdles around a lot."

Luna confidently replies: "Of course he does! He is the most relaxed Jaquin I know… Sure, he does things at his own pace but he does get it done whenever he needs to. I never heard of him failing his quota."

Slightly shocked, both Sienté and Shaniqua simultaneously say "The _quota_…", after which Shaniqua adds: "Now that you mention this… On top of that, I do see him talking with others often. He seems quite social to me. Just like you are, Sienté."

Luna adds teasingly: "You better make a choice soon, or be ready to see yourself becoming a spinster."

"Haha! Let us stay on topic, Luna. You know what I find cute about Veje? The way he speaks!' Shaniqua continues and slows her talking down, 'Slow but clear."

Sienté: "True. I cannot feel annoyed by that, either. I actually like it. It gives me a tranquil feeling… By the way, now that we are talking about Veje. Does any of you know how he became a royal guard?"

Shaniqua: "I was just wondering the very _same_ thing! I have not the slightest idea. I mean, he is not huskily built at all, completely unlike the rest of those guards."

Luna: "You certainly can say so. He must have done something special. Or king Verago must have seen something special in him… Anyway, he is so lucky to be one of the royal guards!"

"Why not go and ask him, Sienté? That way you might connect with him and who knows what might come of it?' Shaniqua says using a smooth tone of voice she turns into an excited one, 'Oh, and if the two of you make conversation I want to know all about it!"

At this time, Dulce appears on the scene. "Hello, ladies. Busy making small talk again? Hihi, I would love to join you girls but I really need a word with Sienté. There is something I need to discuss, Soothsayer to Soothsayer." Dulce says with a smile.

Both Luna and Shaniqua shrug once. Before taking their leave Shaniqua says: "That is okay. We always have enough to discuss so I see you girls tomorrow! Are you coming, Kamil?"

"Yeah!" Kamil shouts nodding and looks at the other females once before readying himself.

"So, what are you gonna do?" Luna asks Shaniqua.

Shaniqua looks back at her with a happy smile: "Taking Kamil southwest of the Palace to gather anoki berries together. I have yet to reach my quota. You also have to reach yours, right?"

"Speak for yourself, girl. I already reached mine!' Luna says proudly, 'And I am coming with because anoki berries are my favourite! I am gonna help the two of you. Right, Kamil? Aww, you are so cute!"

Sienté follows up on Luna and Shaniqua with her eyes, smiling as she hears them being thrilled like that. She then turns to Dulce: "What is it you wanted to see me for?"

Dulce looks uneasy when she starts speaking: "I feel worried lately, feeble even. I cannot seem to focus on my role as Soothsayer well enough. Somehow I am keeping myself down… and with it the clan. Truth be told, at times I lose sleep – over the things I hear that begs me to come with a suitable answer I myself cannot always immediately find. At such a moment I crave a solution to boost my spirit. Knowing you have more extended knowledge on tisanes, Sienté, I came to ask if you can prepare me anything that makes me feel more at ease."

"I see.' Sienté says calmly understanding Dulce's carrying over her Soothsayer expertise to her out of frailty, 'I am sure it must be tough addressing issues of such complexity. I must admit it can be difficult providing care to troubled minds. I do so myself but you are the real expert, and, above all, truly sought after for it. Right now, I feel tempted to craft you a concoction. However, tisanes do not work miracles. They combat symptoms, and seldom will they take away the root of a problem…"

Dulce looks at Sienté with a form of guilt, realising she's to be leading this conversation for this is her field of expertise yet feels unable to function at her finest. This makes her rather uncertain, and she attempts to touch a different topic: "Somehow you remind me of what some humans do. They also prepare concoctions as you do so well. From what I once understood they call such human a 'shaman'. Can you imagine being called that way? Shaman Sienté…"

Sienté giggles: "I kind of like it, shaman Sienté… Where did you get that from?"

"I heard this from Migs. In between fights against Shuriki in Avalor he once told me about it. Shamans belonged to the… previous people of Avalor, something like that. Honestly, I have no idea what exactly they were supposed to do. But ever since I keep thinking about that word, I also keep thinking about him…' Dulce says falling into a romantic swoon, 'So manly, so sweet and kind. Aah, I just hope he thinks about me a lot, too…"

Sienté nods understandingly: "Surely he must feel the same way about you. You are kind, caring, and supportive. It seems to me like characteristics that complement him… Now that I come to think of it, this must be the root of your problem. This is about Migs, is it not? The two of you are together for some time now, starting to care for one each other deeply. Now that he is residing somewhere else makes you become oblivious about his state of being, how he feels about you, leaving you in doubt, and your mind distracted… This must feel like torture, Dulce. Therefore, I believe the answer lies with giving your mind more breathing space. Thinking only of him leaves little opportunity caring for yourself. You definitely must place yourself before him! You can only care for him if you are able to adequately care for yourself first."

Dulce slowly nods knowing Sienté's right. She smiles at her: "You are absolutely right! I said these same words to myself, but somehow coming from your mouth they sound more true… They offer me solace."

"Let me suggest the following. What I think is best, for now, is for us to head back to the Palace.' Sienté says comforting, 'There I can prepare a concoction that eases your mind like you said you need. Then make sure to talk to Migs and discuss what you feel needs be discussed. Deal?"

Both females start flying back toward the Palace. Dulce bears a grand smile. She feels speaking to a fellow Soothsayer most often sets things right in her mind. "Getting to the subject of name-calling I entirely understand how difficult it could be. I am actually getting a hunch of whom you are speaking. Tudor should keep his mouth shut more often. I am not quite sure whether he realises what impact his 'jokes' have."

Dulce says: "Believe me, he does. He knows all too well. This joking is in his very nature. He might be a proud Jaquin, but I find joking around and starting rumours should not be a core part of that pride."

Sienté nods: "I agree. His behaviour of late has become worrisome, appalling even. He should be penalised for it. King Verago should ultimat…"

Dulce interrupts Sienté: "I would rather go talk with Shaniqua first. She might be able to get him back in line. After all, they are spending much time together during valuable moments. If this does not work we can always go and see king Verago."

A shiver runs down Sienté's spine: "True… Just the thought of having such a 'chat' with king Verago… Not me, no way I will want to hear of it!"

While the two females are flying home, Migs also is in flight. He does so going around the Palace perimeter, carefully sweeping the semi-open grasslands beneath him that surround it. He's in search of a couple of Jaquins. He has a special request for them.

During his flight, he spots Skylar, Nico, and Dióntan. They're flying also, manoeuvring around each other playing a game of tag. This puts a smile on his face. *Look at them have this much fun! I will not bother asking Skylar just yet but I will ask him soon… Perhaps it is best to let him wear himself down a bit for now. Yet I am not looking for him right now. I wonder where he – is… Oh, over there is Tudor lying in his nest. The fool. He has the only one build in the uppermost layer of a canopy. Someday it will be blown off or washed away. But… I should not worry ab… Ah, there you are!* he thinks to himself going through all of the Jaquins he can spot from this high up.

He descends rapidly and lands close to a sunbathing Jaquin. "There you are, Veje!' Migs says delightedly, 'I was looking for you."

Veje looks up and slowly replies: "Migs…"

"Well, not saying much? Apparently you dawdle not only in speed but in speech also."

Veje eyes him and says in a calm manner: "You have a fine way with words."

Migs nods taking those words as a compliment. He adds: "And with tactics if I say so myself… Anyhow, Veje, you are a royal guard. King Verago himself said going on a hunt will contribute to being a great royal guard… So you need to contribute someday, and today you are lucky for I am providing you with this opportunity! What do you think?"

"Not much right now.' Veje answers slow as he gets up and stretches his limbs, 'Now I start doing so, and I think of this as a great idea… I simply have nothing else to do right now, so count me in!"

"Now that is the sp…' Migs starts off enthusiastic but holds back, 'Wait, it is not… Anyway, now that this is settled we will meet at the entrance of the Palace!"

Without waiting any further for a reply he flies off. However, he immediately is stopped in his tracks. Tudor's blocking his path: "I heard… I am coming with! This is going to be fun! For me at least, hehe."

Migs sighs while looking away but realises avoiding Tudor grants him no way out. He looks back at him: "Sorry, Tudor. You are not on the list, not today."

Tudor puts up an uncanny smile that turns into a wide grin: "Today is drawing to a close and you have yet to assemble that entire party of yours… You should know that I am helping you, and you help you by taking me along…"

Migs displays a troubled look. He feels Tudor's not being sincere with him and wants to decline the offer. Yet Tudor makes a valid point he cannot deny. "Fine, you can come…", Migs replies curtly.

"Alright! You will not regret this." Tudor answers energetically.

*I certainly will regret this.* Migs thinks in response.

When Migs arrives back at the Palace Dióntan approaches him stepping out of the throne room. He looks frustrated and snarls at Migs: "I wonder why you chose to take along my brother instead of me! Why not take me? I have asked king Verago numerous times now to let me join a hunt… You know my brother, doing things at his own pace. I bet he will only slow you down."

"You may assume all you want, but I have set my mind in taking him with me. I always choose my party members at random. I just found everyone I need. Next time I will definitely ask you to come along. What you should ask yourself is why he, of all Jaquins, is a member of the royal guard.' Migs states confident and continues with a faint smile, 'Concerning Veje, he has not yet met his quota for today. So if he cannot keep up with me he has to reach his quota still – in the little time this day still has, that is."

"Whatever you say…" Dióntan says softly in a clear disagreeing tone.

He walks away with Migs following him up with his eyes. As he does a thought crosses his mind: *Now to invite… Skylar. It is by the order of the king, so I _need_ to take him with me. I just need to keep an eye on him. For that matter I respect Luna. She is distant at times, but acts orderly, mature even. Someone I do not need to keep a constant eye on. Skylar has much to learn still. I hope he does so during this hunt.*

Migs returns to the grand hallway. He hopes to find Skylar soon. Yet he need not look far… Skylar is just ahead and is moving away from him. He sniffs the air as if in search of something. Skylar, on his turn, looks at an arch. He can see Luna and Shaniqua inside the room behind it. Also, that delightful smell comes from over there. He closes in on the arch and sneakingly moves into the room. Luna and Shaniqua are talking about anoki berries. *So that is what I smell! Yummy…* he thinks and starts licking his lips at the thought alone.

Migs observes Skylar sneakingly move into a storage room. He becomes curious as to why, since Skylar isn't carrying any food with him to add to the current stock. "Skylar!' Migs hears Luna yell, 'Those anoki berries are not yours. Get out!"

Now standing in front of the arch Migs sees Skylar back off from Luna. "Luna, hey… Eh, I was not trying… I intended…" he defensively tries reasoning himself out of this situation.

When Shaniqua gives him an evil eye he turns around and runs out of the room. He bumps into Migs who speaks his name out loud, interrupting him but also Luna, who's looking angry at him still. "You are just the Jaquin I was looking for.' Migs says happy with both wings extended effectively blocking Skylar's only exit, 'King Verago said I should take you along with me on my exciting hunt! I bet you want to have some fun, and fun it will be! Tudor is coming along, too… What say you?"

Skylar looks at Migs with a doubtful gaze. Migs gets the feeling Skylar will turn him down. However, Verago ordered him to take his son along with him, leaving him no choice. Unfortunately for him, time's running out. He's in dire need of assembling his party, now…


	5. An unfaithful event - part 1

_While Shaniqua starts doubting what Tudor is up to, Migs drafts Skylar, Veje, and Tudor for a hunt; one that will impact all of them…_

* * *

"Yeah, I am in!' Skylar hastily says to get away from an angry Luna quickly and asks while fretting, 'What are we hunting for, Migs?"

Migs releases a sigh of relief. He acts casual like he usually does, but this time to quickly ready himself and the hunting party: "You will see."

Skylar takes on a sluggish posture as he rolls his eyes: "Argh, that is such a dull answer, as always!"

Migs looks around and notices Veje approaching him. He walks towards him, which he does at his regular pace, or dawdling as others would prefer since he does somewhat slower than other Jaquins would. Veje acts this casual, sluggish even as if he doesn't care for the world around him. Yet, he always has this gripped look in his eyes that betrays his motivation to understand what's happening around him. "Migs, where do we go?" Veje asks curiously.

Migs curtly says: "We head west, Veje. There we find what I am looking for. Prepare yourselves for we set out soon!"

Skylar becomes bored. He alternates his view from Veje to Tudor. Both are stretching themselves, clearly doing what Migs is asking them to. Skylar looks back at Migs and says: "Aw, come on Migs! Tell us what we are hunting for! How else are we to prepare?"

Migs avoids eye-contact with Skylar, on purpose. He knows this 'whining' will only distract both Skylar and himself from the current plan, and become delayed… Migs doesn't like to be delayed in general, but especially so when caused by simple excuses like these. A thought crosses Migs' mind as he keeps looking in the opposite direction, the one which they will soon be traveling in: *Verago knows his son better than anyone. Skylar indeed needs to grow up, to become more mature. Especially with this extraordinary task ahead of him. He cannot ignore this, let alone ignoring his father. He cannot simply whine like this with Elena. That is not a royal thing to do! He should learn to abide by the rules a leader imposes. I hope I can aid him in this. I am doing this for you, Skylar.*

Migs spreads his wings. "Wings up, friends! Time to hunt." he says almost fierce due to excitement.  
Tudor yells 'Yes!' and starts flapping wings but remains on the ground steady. Veje stands beside him and spreads his wings like Migs does. Skylar waits for a brief moment. "Ready?" Migs shouts.

"Ready!" Skylar, Veje, and Tudor shout back simultaneously.

Excited as Skylar can be about random stuff happening around him or to him, fueled by his juvenile behaviour, so is he concerning the big game hunt that is to take place right now. "Let us give everything during this hunt!" Skylar shouts full of energy.

Migs wants to take to flight when he hears Skylar say this. He retracts his wings, turns his head and slowly asks: "Everything, Skylar?"

"Ah, right.' Skylar says excitedly still but rolls his eyes, 'Veje is with us. He takes it easy… Let us give the most then!"

"Yes!" Veje agrees proud.

Yet, no one seems to take to flight as a brief silence follows. Skylar waits for Migs to spread his wings again but he looks questioningly back at him. All but Veje now starts eyeing one another in an awkward manner before they look back at Skylar. "A lot?…" Skylar now asks having replaced his excitement with reticence.

"Now _that_ is more like it.' Migs says pompously and after spreading his wings changes his tone to an excited one, 'Wings up, friends! We have a big game to hunt."

Migs takes to flight and quickly gains himself altitude. The rest is following him in quick succession. During the flight, Veje goes flying closer to Migs. "Migs, what are we looking for?" Veje asks.

Skylar's overhearing the two and hears what Veje asks Migs. He knows he can easily pull a joke out of it and answers before Migs can: "Probably a slow creature, Veje, so you can keep up, haha!"

Tudor starts laughing and quickly adds: "Hehe, good one! On top of that, it better be crippled as well."

Both start laughing. Veje negligently replies with a simple and unmoved 'Yes'. Flying in the lead Migs hears the boys' chaff against Veje, who in turn seems unaffected by it at all, and cannot suppress a faint laugh. He feels glad hearing Skylar being excited again instead of hearing his nagging. This reminds Migs of something: "Tell me, Tudor. You were kind to come along on this hunt. How come?"

Migs looks back and notices Tudor starting to show the same wide grin he had while persuading Migs in taking him along. Before he can reply, though, Skylar beats Tudor to it: "Hey, I heard that too. Tell us!"

"Ugh… Let me say Shaniqua and Dulce talked me into 'being nice for once', or so _they_ said." Tudor curtly states still finding it unfair he got outnumbered two against one by these females earlier today.

During this conversation, Veje relapses back to his position next to Skylar at his own dawdling pace. Tudor notices and quickly takes advantage of the situation to divert the attention away from him. "Yo, Veje! Keep up, slowpoke!" he shouts so everyone in the party can hear him.

In the meantime Skylar has taken over Veje's previous position and now flies next to Migs, both effectively forming the front of the hunting party. Hearing Tudor yell they both look back. Migs addresses Veje at a firm tone: "Keep up, Veje! If you lose track of us you need to achieve your quota – on your own. With the end of the day drawing near king Verago will not be pleased if you bring your catch in late."

*What quota?* Veje thinks confused and disregards Migs' words.

While they continue flying westward, Nico and Dióntan in the meantime are ready to train some more for the speed race. "You must be as old as my big brother, Dióntan. This means I will be faster than both of you! I will win that race." Nico says with dedication.

Dióntan smirks. Being filled with confidence he replies: "Ha, keep dreaming, Nico! You may be royal but that does not mean I let you win.' Dióntan says confident and holds a moment halfway through his sentence as he realises something, 'Speaking of royal… I am sure my mother told me twice about a royal birth. Then, I am older than Skylar! Ha, thus I am stronger and quicker than him and certainly more so than you."

Nico takes on a playful stance by widening his hind legs and bending through his front ones, effectively forming a play bow. "We will see about that! If you are older than Skylar you are becoming like my dad: big and _sluggish_." Nico says confident in order to outdo Dióntan and emphasises heavily on the last word spoken.

*Again, two boys clearly showing off to one another…* Luna thinks observing the two from a distance before continuing cleaning both wings.

After she's done cleaning one wing, a female Jaquin lands next to her. "I saw you look at Nico and Dióntan, Luna. They are once more showing off like true boys." she says calm and giggles.

The female startles a bit because of Luna's energetic and loud response. "Hey, I was thinking exactly this, Shaniqua!" she replies but contains herself once she notices Shaniqua's looking a bit worried, 'What is the matter, girl?"

Shaniqua seems reluctant knowing not well how to speak her troubled mind. However, she also knows Luna always has an uplifting spirit, speaking with positive vibes, that she needs right now. "Well, I am not sure how to say this." she starts off and seems lost in thoughts.

"Tudor?" is Luna's only response.

Shaniqua looks at Luna with her eyes full of surprise, as if her mind was carefully read. "Yes, how… How did you – know I was… going to…?" she stammers while looking utterly surprised.

Luna looks at her with a sarcastic look and interrupts her by firmly saying: "Come on. I know how much time the two of you are spending together, especially in your nest. If something troubles you it likely involves him, even though he can be a pain in the neck… Now that he went on a hunt makes me rather certain in knowing what this is about."

Shaniqua releases an uneasy chuckle. She seems reluctant to admit it that Luna surprisingly said exactly what's on her mind. She feels Luna's able to read her like a book. "You are right. I actually wanted to see Dulce about this but you are pulling it right out of me. This relieves me, you know." she says uneasily.

"So?" Luna asks curtly but interested still.

"Uhm, he has gone on a hunt. I have no idea how he is behaving himself… and I always fear something will happen to him. Not that something did happen to him before.' Shaniqua says insecure and sighs, 'I am in love with him. I just do not know how to deal with this."

Luna mildly shakes her head. She startles a bit as she hears Nico yell 'Hey, wait up!' and spots him and Dióntan fly off somewhere. She turns back to Shaniqua. "I guess this is always the case when Tudor is off to somewhere, is it not? I do not know, but maybe you simply do not wish to see him leave. You were this upset when he helped fight against Shuriki. Heck, that was even more dangerous! There, look at Dióntan.' Luna says and waits for Shaniqua to look at him flying away as well before continuing, 'His brother is in that hunting party, too. I do not see him worried. He is having a blast, and faithfully awaits his brother to return which may take longer than expected… What I mean to say is just give him some space, girl. He knows what he is doing. If it makes you feel any better, Tudor always gets himself back home safe. Come on, why not share some more anoki berries with me?"

Shaniqua nods and she looks more calm now, Luna can tell. As if having an epiphany Shaniqua says: "Sounds good! I could definitely need some. Hihi, and you just want some more yourself… Though I have to admit, you are right. I should rely more on Tudor. He knows what he is doing. This actually begs me to wonder what he is doing now…"


	6. An unfaithful event - part 2

_The hunting party starts its task, yet rather late. More than ever need Migs, Skylar, Veje, and Tudor to be vigilant. Can they accomplish this task on time?_

* * *

High up in the air to the west of the Palace, Migs is looking around. He needs to make sure he's leading the party to the location he chose for this hunt. Behind him, he hears some mumbling. "Guys. I see a Peabunny down there. I had no idea they also live here." Veje says calmly.

Veje tries to get confirmation from Migs as he's the party leader but Migs doesn't respond. He's too busy navigating. Veje then turns to Tudor flying next to him but he too is busy. Tudor's too distracted with chuckling over the joke earlier still. He eyes Veje and starts chuckling louder again only to realise Veje's looking back at him. "What?" he hesitantly asks.

Veje shakes his head and watches Skylar who is looking down almost frantic now, hastily saying: "Where? I do not see it."

"Take it easy, Skylar! Relax yourself. Why rush?" Veje says calm still.

Skylar turns his head and frowns. "You just sound like my father. Besides Veje, you _always_ take it easy. Let me tell you something. A day not lived to the fullest is a day not lived at all!' Skylar says energetically and immediately reminds himself of something that eases his tone of voice, 'You know, I have met some friends a long time ago… They are not Jaquins though but you will adore them because they are _so_ much like you. I will introduce you to them someday."

"You do that." Veje says unmoved but with a touch of curiosity to it.

"Boys! There it is." Migs whispers the latter part firm and points down to the ground using his paw.

Skylar, Veje, and Tudor follow Migs' pointing down to the ground. After seeing some shrubs moving violently a herd of Veloz Ciervos appears from underneath dense forest vegetation. "Wow… Is that what we are looking for?" Tudor asks excited hoping they will soon start doing something different other than this continuous flying.

"Shush, Tudor! Otherwise, we lose our advantage." Skylar whispers quickly.

"Indeed.' Migs agrees with both whisperingly, 'And yes, Tudor. You have seen these animals living near the Palace also. Yet, the ones living at the peripheral of Vallestrella are feral. King Verago declared that we may only hunt ferals. That is why we are here. Now follow me down, boys…"

Migs starts a descent and lowers his party to just above tree level. This way he can still follow the herd silently without getting spotted easily. He starts whispering orders to everyone: "Veje, you scare the herd so they become disoriented. Tudor, you drive them apart. Skylar, you and I will then isolate an individual and take it down before it can run off at that incredible speed."

All nod at Migs simultaneously. Veje and Tudor take-off sideways and fly along some trees to remain out of sight from the herd. Shortly after, Veje notices the herd slowing down when they approach an open grassland. At that point, he appears alongside the herd. Three Veloz Ciervos at the back of the herd spot him and shriek of anxiety. The rest of the herd looks up, but those three start running already. Unable to move forward they break away from the herd, and away from Veje, toward Tudor they haven't spotted yet. Tudor startles from their unexpected move and seeks shelter behind a tree the three Veloz Ciervos run past. Veje quickly moves above canopy level to see where Skylar and Migs are. He spots them, closing in on him. "They run off to the right!" Veje yells at them.

Migs looks surprised to see Veje but realises now is the time to act. "On it!" he replies and directs himself and Skylar into the direction the Veloz Ciervos are now running in.

Migs and Skylar rush towards the open grassland to find their prey. Veje feels he needs to be there, too. He moves along with them but below canopy level. He flies past Tudor, who now realises the threat is gone and starts following Veje. "Wait up!" he whispers but quickly realises Veje doesn't hear him.

Veje reaches the open grassland but he spots the three Veloz Ciervos rushing off at top speed. *Aw, too late…* he says to himself.

At that point he sees Skylar and Migs make a turn. Veje looks in the direction they're flying in now and notices two Veloz Ciervos trying to find a way out of the thick forest. Their speed is low as they need to constantly manoeuvre themselves through all the vegetation. Tudor looks that way no as well and nods at Veje, who pushes himself away from the tree next to him to immediately gain momentum. Tudor goes to close in on the two Veloz Ciervos but Veje flies past him as his speed is much higher. *Again?* Tudor thinks full of surprise while feeling slow as Veje just past him for the second time.

The Veloz Ciervos break free from the thick vegetation and start running. By this time Veje has gained on them. He starts flying in front of one of them. *If I can distract the animal from running at full speed the others can go in for the kill.* he thinks filled with ecstasy of having this great idea.

Skylar and Migs notice Veje breaking formation and is now flying where he's not supposed to be. Migs has an angry look on his face as he thinks: *No, Veje! You will ruin this hunt!*

Skylar exclaims somewhat worried: "What is Veje doing?"

"Veje does not know himself what he is doing." Migs replies angry but also a little shaken by Veje's unexpected move.

This move Veje just pulled off startles the Veloz Ciervos and instead of slowing down it speeds up a little more. Veje underestimates the top speed to which the Veloz Ciervos just increased. Veje increases his speed as well. When he swiftly looks behind him once more to see where the prey exactly is behind him he startles. The animal has gotten very close and at this point bashes into his side using its antlers. Veje shrieks. Pain runs through his lower body after feeling a couple of twinges from the bashing. *He must have taken a direct hit!* Migs thinks as he sees the bashing unfold before his eyes.

Both Veje and the Veloz Ciervos become disoriented by the bashing. Still able to fly Veje instinctively moves out of more harm's way. Migs, Skylar and Tudor see him fly uncontrollably imbalanced. Veje feels quite some pain from the bashing. With a pained look on his face, he exclaims: "Ahh! It hurts…"

Disoriented still, the Veloz Ciervos loses some of its tremendous speed. Without further ado Migs immediately springs into action, taking advantage of the situation that just unfolded in front of him. He closes in on the animal. Without hesitation he dives towards it, smashing all his weight onto the back of the animal who in turn collapses to the ground. He's followed shortly by Skylar and Tudor who witness one of this Juggernaut's special abilities.

Meanwhile, Veje comes to a standstill. He goes to lie on the ground on his unhurt side. Skylar and Tudor see him lying there and are quick to approach him. Breathing rapidly but shallow Veje notices them both only when they arrive right in front of him and he looks at them without saying a single word. An ounce of pain runs through his lower body once more and his face expresses this clearly. "Wow, that was some hit. Veje, are you alright?" Skylar asks him with concern in his voice.

"Never seen this before, someone getting hit that hard!" Tudor exclaims in utter surprise.

"Need… help!' Migs yells at them, 'Right now!"

"On it!" Skylar quickly replies flying off to Migs and help him.

"Okay!' Tudor yells glad seeing their prey downed and directs his attention back to Veje, 'So, where did the Veloz Ciervos hit you? Does it hurt a lot?"

Veje remains unresponsive for a second. Then he slowly nods. His face still expresses severe pain. Pain which he slowly succumbs to. Slowly his eyes shut and he exhales deep. *Did he fall… asleep?* Tudor thinks to himself.

"Alright – alright…" Tudor mumbles uneasy.

He doesn't know what to do. All he can think of is staying with Veje until Migs and Skylar are done. Tudor sits down next to Veje and keeps an eye on him. There's really nothing he can do for his friend, making him feel uneasy. He looks around to see if Migs and Skylar are on their way towards him while he waits beside Veje. *Argh, what is taking them so long?* Tudor thinks.

This waiting seems like an eternity. It just lasts and lasts, while nothing else seems to happen. Waiting for help starts toying with Tudor and a thought crosses his mind: *Migs does not seem to be coming back… Did he run off? Tail between his legs? Argh, where did he go? Should I just call for him? And Skylar? He should be here, too. Did he stay? Where is he? Where are…*

Tudor suddenly is interrupted, startled by a voice near him.

"Okay, we need a Soothsayer! Veje requires attention from someone that can nurse him, who knows how to deal with this… Skylar, you stay here – Tudor, same." Migs states confidently.

"Where are you going?" Skylar asks somewhat anxious out of insecurity.

He takes a step towards Migs. His helpless eyes are finding his while a thought crosses his mind: *Out of everyone present, Migs knows best what to do… I have no idea how to help Veje. I truly hope Migs stays.*

To Skylar, and Tudor as well, this situation seems dire. After all, they are but boys. Migs notices this in their behaviour. He also notices Veje's likely not fatally wounded but resides in agony nonetheless. Therefore he uses a soothing voice to best prevent the situation from escalating: "I will head back to the Palace and ask for assistance. So you know in case anyone needs me."

Tudor feels becoming reassured with every breath he takes for as long Migs is around him in this mess. This feeling has him fall back into his old habits. Somewhat nervous still he says: "We will not, hehe."

Migs making some sort of sigh exhaling air through his nose hard, in a mere habituated response to Tudor's improper reply, unaware of it himself. *He is anxious, much like Skylar is.* Migs thinks and finds himself unable this time blaming Tudor for his inappropriate joking.

Migs decides to ignore Tudor and continues with a firm voice: "In the meantime, both of you look after Veje. He can use your help. You two know him well. Help him in any way you see fit!"

Both Skylar and Tudor show helplessness radiating from their eyes as they see Migs take off and fly away from them. They look as if the only one who knows what to do with this mess just took off. Skylar and Tudor look at each other. Tudor looks at Veje and back at Skylar, with the helplessness in his eyes still. "Should we…?" Tudor starts off.

Skylar rolls his eyes out of confusion and looks at Veje. He's clearly looking for a good answer because he knows exactly what Tudor wants to ask. "Yeah, let us stay with Veje like Migs said." Skylar says comfortingly.

"I did not want to say that.' Tudor says slow, 'I have no idea what to do… Look at Veje. What _can_ we do?"

"All we can…" Skylar replies uncertainly and retains hope Veje's going to become well again.

He walks over to Veje and sits down next to him. Tudor slowly walks over to him as well. He also sits down. "How are you doing, Veje?" he asks cautiously.

Veje moans somewhat as he moves his head into a better position. Then he starts producing short grunts as if trying to say something. Tudor brings his head closer to Veje's, but cannot hear anything audible he can understand. All he hears are grunts as if something's preventing Veje from saying something. "It seems to be getting worse…" Skylar says in a worrying tone.

Both he and Tudor look at each other once more. This time it's in disparity. Both have no idea what to say. *What if Veje will… stop living? I want him to stay alive!* Skylar thinks.

By now Veje's grunting becomes less audible. He only flops his head now with every breath he exhales. His wings now do, too. It startles Skylar and Tudor both. They believe his flopping are reactions to pain, yet cannot see any wounds that Veje might be suffering from. *Please stay with us!* Tudor thinks in agony as he witnesses Veje deteriorating in health.

*Why did I agree to stay here? Why did I not go with Migs… or instead of him? Why do I have to stay with Veje? I have absolutely no idea what to do!* Skylar agonisingly thinks at the same time…


	7. An unfaithful event - part 3

_Skylar and Tudor get into a fight while watching over Veje before rescue reaches them. That is not the only problem, since twilight kicks in. Will everyone make it back home in time?_

* * *

Skylar says to Tudor slowly: "He seems to be getting worse."

Tudor starts with a soft yet audible voice but raises it as he speaks: "What to do…? Skylar, you must know something we can do. You are the son of king Verago!"

Skylar hesitantly replies while shaking his head: "I do not know…"

After a brief yet awkward silence, Tudor switches his gaze between Veje and Skylar. He turns to Skylar and, with seemingly made a decision about something, he asks: "Hehe, you do not know if you are the son of the king?"

"No time for jokes, Tudor!' Skylar yells mad, 'This should not be at the forefront of your mind!"

This reply from Skylar is the kick-starter of a pointless argument. Partially instilled by their juvenile tendencies, it builds up as they use sneering statements that go back and forth, affecting them both in a negative manner. The argument between them doesn't require much more fuelling for both boys to truly get fired up and start infuriatingly yelling at one another. As they do, both Skylar and Tudor forget all about Veje, who remains idle and still on the ground.

At some point, Skylar and Tudor get so frustrated with each other that they seize their altercation completely. They both sit down and peevishly face away from each other with their tails twitching irritably. Irate from the fight Skylar looks at the ground and ponders: *What a fool! Why did he go with us? Why is he even here? We do not need him! He is useless! I feel so bad for Veje that Tudor is here. Pff… that Tudor, such an idiot! Why did Migs bring him with us? Migs… Where are you? I need you… Veje needs you! Where are you? Ugh, how would my father have dealt with all this?*

Behind him Tudor's also pondering about the same thing. Looking up at the sky he thinks while fighting back some tears: *Wow, Skylar… Stupid! It was just a joke! Get it alright… Starting an argument – over a joke! Always jumping to conclusions. Stupid, stupid! Hmpf, Migs would prevent all this from happening, would prevent _him_ from yelling at me! Migs would keep the peace, no dou… Wait, the sky… is getting darker? Will it be nightfall soon?*

"Uh…' Tudor starts off whispering out of hesitation and eventually finds the courage to cautiously address Skylar, 'Ehm… It is – getting dark…"

"Ow…" Skylar says tutted with a clearly sour tone to his voice.

Skylar turns his head to look at Tudor, who slowly turns his head also. He notices Skylar looking at him and quickly redirects his gaze at the ground instead. Skylar sighs audibly. "Sorry…" he says slowly.

Tudor looks at Skylar again. This time he doesn't look away and nods. "Sorry…" he replies without anything popping up in his mind that he can say additionally.

Both he and Skylar simultaneously look at Veje. "I – I hope…' Skylar stammers uneasily, 'I hope he did not hear us argue too much."

"If at all…' Tudor adds uneasily as well, 'Shall we – look…?"

"Yeah… We should like we promised Migs." Skylar says knowing what Tudor wants to ask.

Tudor nods in acceptance. Both go and sit next to Veje, one at each side of him. They lie down and fold their wing closest to Veje around him. There, they wait for Migs' return.

After some while Migs arrives at the scene. He brought Sienté with him. Both breathe heavily from their trip back to the hunting site. "Well – this is not what I – was expecting to witness." Sienté says panting heavily.

While catching her breath she goes to stand beside Veje. Skylar and Tudor move away from him so Sienté can have a clear look at him. He lies still on the ground, unmoved since that unfaithful moment. Sienté looks at him in detail. He lies on his right-paw side, his hind legs retracted, front legs stretched, wings folded but not positioned neatly alongside the body that makes for a cramped impression. His breathing is irregular and his eyes are shut. This sight disturbs her. It's a feeling she cannot explain even to herself… Hastily a thought crosses her mind: *I truly never witnessed a Jaquin in such dire need before…*

Sienté displaces this thought with the only thing that should be on her mind. "He needs help fast." she says with a trembling but determined voice.

Migs nods at her and says curtly but at a worried tone of voice: "Whatever you need."

Sienté looks back at Migs. Her face betrays anxiety, even though she tries her best to suppress it. She nods back at him and slowly says: "I – need some herbs and seeds. Eh… amaranth, a caroba flower, some cherimoya… Yes, that should do it. The plants holding those items should grow among the evergreen here. At least, I _hope_ they do…"

"I know which you speak of. I shall collect those. Have no worries, Sienté, Veje is safe with you… I will return shortly." Migs says confident and immediately takes to the skies.

Sienté turns her attention at Skylar and Tudor. Without hesitation, she says: "I need some petals. They must be at least the size of my tail tip."

Skylar and Tudor look at one another, then look at all the different plants around them, only to revert their gaze on Sienté again questioningly. She notices and curtly adds: "Well, one of you is going to get me some…"

Skylar realises this is the time to act and takes on a confident stance. "I will… send Tudor to get some.' he starts doubtful but changes to a boastful tone of voice, 'After all, I _am_ prince of the Jaquins!"

Tudor shakes his head out of disappointment. He gives Skylar a sour look. Yet even he knows time is of the essence now and quarrelling now no longer will do any good. Figuratively speaking he's biting his lips as he slowly says back: "This is low…"

He sighs audibly to reinforce his resentment, yet goes to walk about in a rummaging manner, approaching the evergreen surrounding them as he does, to start searching for the petals Sienté described to him. "So, plants are going to help him?" Skylar carefully asks.

Sienté nods and replies: "My mother taught me a lot of the plants within and around the Palace Perimeter. Both for practical uses as in which to consume, but also which have healing properties and in what combinations."

Meanwhile, she's gone around Veje and sits in between him and Skylar, who eagerly tries to see what she's doing thinking: *Apparently inspecting his fur on his – abdomen I guess, and flanks, probably in search of bruises… I never saw a Jaquin got hit so hard before! I truly hope she can help him.*

While Skylar looks over Sienté's shoulder to see what she's doing exactly, Sienté on her turn identifies and examines the bashed spots on Veje's lower body. Touching some spots makes him moan little while doing the same with other spots provokes no reaction at all. Skylar doesn't wish to keep thinking of what might become of Veje now that he's badly hurt, or so Skylar assumes. A shiver goes down his spine making him eager to want to make conversation about another topic. He slowly says to Sienté: "You… remind me of Luna. You were quite grumpy – err, or bossy just now."

Sienté doesn't look up. Instead, she retains her focus on Veje and gives only a curtly reply: "I am when I need to be."

"Which of the two?" Skylar carefully asks.

Sienté replies unmoved and without looking at him: "Whatever tickles your fancy, Skylar."

At that moment Migs returns with some plant material in his mouth. Sienté immediately identifies it as everything she requested. Migs puts the flowers, berries, and seeds on the ground next to Sienté. In the meantime, Tudor returns with four large leaves and puts them next to her as well. Sienté nods at both of them once. She takes two of the leaves and lays them out next to each other, their sides slightly overlapping one another. She then takes both the berries and seeds, smushes them onto the leaves, and smears them across both leaves until they've become a paste of sorts. She takes the petals off of the flowers and grinds them through the paste to produce a concoction. She smears it onto Veje's bruised spots which Skylar obviously is pointing out for her redundantly, though he's trying to help as much as he can. When they are done Sienté nods at Skylar who nods back at her.

Only little time passes when Veje lessens his shallow breathing. All surrounding him seem relieved by this change for the better. Sienté moves close to him and lies down facing him, and says: "Take it easy, Veje. Let the pain fade away first."

Migs nods and adds: "After that, we can take everything home with us."

Veje slowly opens his eyes. He audibly moans a little. He tries to raise himself to his paws. Migs immediately steps in and supports him, quickly followed by Tudor doing the same. They help Veje quickly get back up on all fours. Veje looks at both Migs and Tudor and dilatorily nods in appreciation, in order to be supported a little longer. Yet Migs and Tudor slowly release him so he can stand on his own. However, pain suddenly surges through Veje's abdomen. This startles him, and he starts sagging through his legs a little. With his eyes now wide open he makes a brief grunt. "Ai." Migs mumbles in a reaction but audible to both Veje and Tudor.

Quickly Migs starts supporting Veje again. Tudor says: "Come on, Veje. You are hurt in your body, not in your legs."

"Please stop narking us, Tudor. I know you like to, but not here and especially not now." Migs states at a dismissive tone.

Being misunderstood, Tudor sighs uncomfortably: "Argh. What else am I supposed to do, then?"

"If you will, nothing until we ask for your help." Sienté replies calmly.

Skylar looks at both Migs and Sienté before asking: "So… what are we going to do now?"

"I say it is best to go home.' Migs says casually and waits for Sienté to nod in confirmation before continuing, 'We need to be careful with Veje. Under normal circumstances, I would carry our prey back home. Clearly these are no regular circumstances. Therefore, Skylar and Tudor, this task now befalls upon the two of you. I will take Veje on my back with me. Sienté can stay close to me to keep an eye on Veje during our journey back to the Palace. Hmm, I wonder how to explain all this to king Verago…"

"Let me handle that!' Skylar steps in starting off confidently but grows hesitantly as he speaks, 'I will talk… with dad. After all, he… is my father. I am sure he will understand… that this – was just an accident."

"How else will you explain this?" Tudor asks irritably as he ponders how Verago might deal with them.

"No one knows for sure. All we should care for now is to get home safely. Not only due to the condition Veje is currently in, but also because of the twilight.' Sienté says calm and looks up at the dusky sky, 'The way I see it, we will arrive during the evening. If we return soon enough then no royal guards will be dispatched to look for us. Surely that will bring us more trouble than need be."

Migs nods, and so does Skylar, for both know how bitter Verago may become if a Jaquin returns home late without prior notice. *Call it strict, but king Verago wants to make sure to see all of his subjects safe, no matter what.* Migs thinks to what Sienté just said.

Migs eyes everyone once before saying: "Alright. Time to go home! We do as I instructed. I will carry Veje…"

After some time of gentle flying to prevent either Veje or the fresh catch from tumbling down during flight, Migs, his hunting party, and Sienté eventually arrive at the Palace perimeter. It's almost dark by now. Luckily for them, they start spotting the first of many nests. Built in trees all around the Palace, Jaquins in Vallestrella have nests they utilise for nursing, feeding, and sleeping. They're made of materials from the resident tree they're located in, as well as from adjacent trees if necessary. Materials include bark, branches, leaves, and llianas, of which the latter is mainly used to bind together the bark and branches to create a strong foundation. Llianas also, together with leaves, are used as bedding material. Nests provide space for up to three adult Jaquins or two adults and up to three cubs. To provide adequate shelter against weather conditions nests are preferably built in the middle layer of a tree's canopy. Sometimes a nest is built at the bottom layer, though it faces destruction by other species, accidentally or on purpose. Jaquins also seldom build nests in the top layer of the canopy as this mitigates shelter purposes.

One of the few nests they spot belongs to Veje and Dióntan, including the latter Jaquin who's sitting in it and clearly waiting for something. *Finally, Veje gets to lie in his nest again. Dióntan is there already.* Sienté thinks motherly.

Dióntan indeed awaits them, being worried about his brother's absence for such a long time, especially it being close to nighttime. Happy to see the hunting party finally return he waits for all of them to have landed in his nest. Dióntan quickly approaches Migs. That same moment he notices Veje lying on Migs' back, looking weak and acting lethargically. Dióntan becomes anxious about his brother's wellbeing, his face shows fright. Migs gently lowers Veje into the nest. Veje reacts by moving his head around and slowly starts inspecting a sore spot on his body. *Pain must still linger there. It annoys him, I can tell.* Sienté notices from the look on his face.

She walks up to him. "Good to see you moving again. It is best to get some sleep now. The painful feeling will lessen over time.' she says aloof but slow and winks at Dióntan, 'It is a good thing Dióntan is here, too. He can look after you."

Veje looks at her. His eyes radiate a gripped look as always, showing interest in her. His motivation is quite deep, or so she can tell by merely gazing at him. There's something he wants from her, telling her so through the look in his eyes. She gets closer to Veje and sits down right next to him. "Be careful getting close to him. Sometimes my brother brings bad luck." Dióntan suddenly says with a faint smile.

Seemingly flat to Dióntan's remark Veje adds: "Yes. Migs brings bad luck as well, so I thought going with him would bring good luck instead."

Migs gives it a thought and releases a murmuring 'Hmm-hmm'. "Haha, I got that one." Dióntan replies.

Sienté seems to think about it also, and then giggles. "Me too…' she says hastily but shakes her head once with a frown, 'Eh… No, I – did not get it. What does he mean?"

After receiving no reply from either Veje or Dióntan she returns to inspecting Veje's spots. Having identified them she starts nursing him. "Well, this day turned out different than I hoped for. Luckily, we all are home now. Skylar… Tudor. Needless to say, Veje needs rest after what he has been through. Tomorrow is a new day, and hopefully, he will feel much better then.' Migs says bold and looks at both boys hoping they'll listen immediately without protesting, 'Regarding ourselves, we should head toward the Palace with our freshly caught prey and store it there. Then we head home ourselves. I bet our nest companions must be worried for us three as well… _Tudor_."

Tudor gives Migs a sour look, knowing he might be right. Shaniqua must be worried, usually resulting in her wanting a word with him…

"I agree…' Skylar says softly and looks at Veje and says at an audible tone, 'I hope you make a complete recovery, Veje. Get well soon, amigo!"

Having said this Skylar spreads his wings and swiftly takes to the sky, heading toward the Palace. Migs and Tudor follow suit.

Migs breaks formation first and heads for his nest. He finds Dulce there waiting for him, bearing a loving smile upon finally seeing him at this late hour, yet safe now and unharmed. They fall asleep cuddling.

Really tired Tudor finds his way home as well. Approaching his nest he notices he's flying below nest level and on top of that too low to easily reach his nest. He uses the last bits of his energy to get to the canopy's uppermost layer of the tree his nest is located. *Almost… there! Just a little more! Almost in reach…* he thinks when he finally spots his nest.

Swiftly Tudor moves over the edge of his nest and immediately plumps on his fixed spot. He closes his eyes and sighs of utter comfort.

"_Really_?!"

Tudor startles and looks up. That voice is familiar, one he hears a couple of times per day. Though it sounds frustrated. As it dawns on him whose voice it is he spots its owner very close to his location. Shaniqua agitatedly looks at him from the other side of the nest. "Ow, hey. I did… not see you… there." Tudor says confused as to how he could've missed another Jaquin in his nest.

"Again, really?' Shaniqua hisses at him and continues snarling, 'You did _not_ see me? I was happy to finally see you again, now that it is almost nighttime! But you just lay down and go sleeping."

"Ugh, I… You are still happy to see me. I know you are." Tudor says in an attempt to change her mind.

"Yeah, yeah.' Shaniqua says indignantly and knows quarrelling right before bedtime is utterly useless, 'This time I will drop the issue. Tomorrow we will be having a talk…"

Tudor gives her a condemning look she experiences as being lashed out on. However, Tudor receives a smirk from her as she demandingly says: "Ow, you! Now, come over here and cuddle with me. Kamil is in Avalor so we have some of the limited alone time that I really want to spend the best we can…"

Tudor positions himself against her belly and mumbles triumphantly: "I knew you would yield that easily, hehe."

Shaniqua slaps him on his head once, to which he whispers with a tired voice: "Not the head…"

Being the last one to enter his nest is Skylar. He heads into the Palace and arrives at his father's cave home. There he immediately sees the king vastly asleep, lying near the edge of the grand nest with his head resting on the raised outline of it. *Usually he does not lie sleeping like this, so he probably fell asleep while waiting for me. Good… I really do not wish to debate with him right now.* Skylar thinks while observing his father.

Slowly and unobtrusively, in particular, Skylar steps into the nest. He immediately finds a free spot next to Nico, who's also asleep. Carefully he lies down with his wings neatly positioned along his body. Before he realises Skylar, too, has fallen asleep from the exhaustingly final hours of this day…


	8. Visiting Avalor - part 1

_Skylar prepares himself for a new adventure: moving to Avalor. Will leaving behind Vallestrella be a simple task?_

* * *

Morning has set in. The Palace stands in gold as early morning rays shine both onto and into the Palace. Inside, a Jaquin wakes up. He stretches his front legs followed by the rear ones, and then his wings. The sounds made doing so wakes up another Jaquin closeby. "Good morning, father." Skylar says greeting Verago.

Verago yawns. He feels sleepy still, after having stayed up longer last night than he'd expected. "Ah… Morning, Skylar." he says wearily.

Skylar suddenly realises his father might bring up his late arrival of last night. He tries to think of something to say that might distract him. However, Verago doesn't bring anything up. Instead, he licks his right paw three times and starts washing his face. Skylar releases an inaudible sigh. Then something comes to mind and he energetically asks: "So, when are you going to address the King's Guards?"

After yawning one more time, Verago calmly replies: "About now."

"Sweet!"

Right after Skylar exclaims this word he hears some rumbling in the nest. He looks behind him and sees Nico moving about slowly, and greets him as well: "Morning, Nico!"

Getting no reply as Nico's still waking up, Skylar walks out of the cave home, followed by his father walking sluggish yet majestic. Skylar goes to stand on a ledge that is the tip of the throne, from which he can oversee the entire throne room. He notices the King's Guards having amassed together in front of the throne itself. They start forming a double row, standing in line and await their king to appear. "Everyone! I present to you, my father, the king!" Skylar says both loud and proud.

His voice echoes little across the throne room, while he moves his left paw in a presenting manner towards Verago who's approaching him. "Enough, Skylar.' Verago says again calmly and goes to stand beside his son, 'I need you to go and see Migs. Today is a very important day for you. As guardians to the realm of Avalor we are closely bonded with it and its people, and in particular its royal family. We need to help them as much as we can. It is an important part of our role as its protectors. That is why today I am sending you back into Avalor. There, you will mingle with members of that royal family. It is time for you to learn what it takes in becoming a leader."

"But I like it here! Dad, all my friends live here."

"Therefore I will have Migs accompany yo…"

Skylar interrupts him: "Migs? Of every one of my friends, you pick him? Again, dad! If have many friends here. I want the start of my new life to be adventurous, not boring…"

Verago: "Do not worry, Skylar. You will make new friends in Avalor, I am sure. The royal family welcomes you as one of their own. I want you to become a suitable prince and future ruler of our realm, Vallestrella. It may be easier for you if I send Luna to Avalor, too."

Skylar: "Why do I need to go there? Why can they not come here, father?"

"Because this is not their world. Our world is none of their business – anymore.' Verago says stern and sighs, 'How about this? You can tell your friends that come and go into the Palace all about it before you go to Avalor. Your friends will surely visit you from time to time."

"Yeah…' Skylar admits but then remembers something, 'I also have friends outside of the Palace! _You_ know Zuni, Maya, and Lomo! They do not come in here…"

Verago grows agitated with Skylar's excuses and exclaims: "Enough! Skylar, you will do as I tell you."

Skylar looks angry at his father and yells: "If this what it means to become king, I pass!"

Skylar flies off with strong-flapping wings out of the throne room and into the grand hallway. Verago stays put and groans in discordance over Skylar's decision.

At the same time, Luna enters the Palace and lands inside the grand hallway. She spots other Jaquins arriving with her, and greets them briefly, including Tudor and Shaniqua, and Avira. She sees some of them move into several of the rooms under the walkways to acquire themselves breakfast. Most other Jaquins move onto the walkways, though, to take their positions. From there, they await their king during his morning ritual. This old ritual is well-known among the Jaquins. Verago will, like his predecessors, declare the start of each new day by gliding through the grand hallway, all the way from the throne room towards the brightened entrance, enveloped by golden morning rays. During this glide, he greets all Jaquins on the walkways, who in return greet him back. After he reaches the entrance the day officially commences and all Jaquins start their daily routines. Luna decides to position herself on a walkway closest to the throne room so she can observe the King's Guards from up there as Verago starts the ritual. However, she notices a Jaquin she wants a word with. "Morning, Dióntan.' Luna says happy and continues at a somewhat concerned tone, 'How is Veje doing, after what happened yesterday?"

Dióntan startles: "How… do you know?"

"Come on. News like this spreads quickly." Luna replies curtly.

"Hah, that is true… Well, he is doing much better now.' Dióntan says relieved, 'He cannot really move well yet. His wings hurt a little and his body feels sore still, so I am here to collect breakfast for both him and myself."

"Good to hear.' Luna says with a smile but reminds herself of something, 'So, that means Veje is not with the King's Guards?"

Dióntan nods and replies: "Correct. King Verago allowed him to sleep in."

"Okay. Say hi to him for me, will you?" Luna says uplifting.

While Dióntan moves toward one of the rooms underneath the right walkway he says back: "Will do!"

Luna, however, doesn't go into one of such rooms but instead walks towards the throne room. At that point, Skylar flies past her. "Ow, hi, Skylar!" she says happy to see him.

Skylar doesn't respond to her greeting and doesn't look at her, as if ignoring her entirely. He heads out of the Palace with Luna following him up with her eyes while thinking: *What is up with him?*

The moment this thought clears from her mind she startles a bit when hearing a voice call out to her, one that is quite familiar. She turns her head to where the voice originates from and finds Verago looking directly at her.

Verago just finished addressing the King's Guards from atop his throne, providing them with their daily tasks to fulfill. He grunts little, before hovering down to the floor, and from there starts approaching her. He looks serious. When Luna notices him approaching she becomes alert. Not only is he walking directly toward her, she also finds his eyes staring into hers. She immediately sits down both out of respect and indecision. "Luna. Can you stay with Skylar during his time in Avalor? He needs the company of someone that can keep him on course."

"Is that not why you sent Migs, king Verago?" Luna asks curiously.

"Yes,' Verago starts off his reply gruffly, 'but he cannot do this alone. Skylar demands a lot of attention now that I am preparing him for royal duties. Also, Migs has business in Avalor that needs tending."

"I am honoured, king Verago. I will do my best to keep an eye on your son – on _prince_ Skylar." Luna says with respect by emphasising Skylar's title.

"You are highly loyal both to me and the clan, Luna. It pleases me.' Verago says in a calm tone and changes to a serious one, 'You must know, Skylar is full of life. If only he would understand the importance of loyalty and the responsibility that comes with it. Therefore having him spend time with the royal family of Avalor will make him do so."

In the meantime, Migs wakes up frantically. The leaves of his nesting tree rustle heavily. He looks around hastily, glancing through the nest and around it, trying to find out what's happening. *Is… the – tree falling over?* he nervously thinks.

Suddenly he spots a pair of sweet eyes looking at him. They belong to Dulce. She's looking at him intrinsically yet amiably from across the nest. "Good morning, sleepy! I was about to wake you up, but then Skylar came flying past our tree at an incredible pace. It made the leaves rustle. They woke you up for me, hihi." Dulce says softly.

Migs blinks and shakes his head once trying to wear off the groggy feeling he's experiencing. This sudden waking does leave its mark on him. Directing his attention back to Dulce he smiles at her heartily. "Ah, my sweet Dulce. Your loving gaze soothes my mind whenever I feel troubled. Those eyes, that smile, they truly are finest I will ever lay my eyes upon." he says with a sweet voice and blinks at her.

He then peers through the canopy that surrounds their nest entirely as he remembers something Dulce said: "That reminds me… Where did Skylar go? Verago would be the first to fly out, yet you mentioned only Skylar… I will see what is going on with him. I see you in the Palace shortly, Dulce." Migs says slowly and yawns once.

Eager to find out what's happening, he leaves the comforting warmth of his nest to go after Skylar. It doesn't take Migs long to spot him. Skylar's sitting on a ledge of the Palace. While approaching him he cordially says: "Good morning, Skylar! You seem quite awake. I bet you slept well last night."

Skylar audibly sighs. "I did… I do not want to talk about it.' Skylar starts off indignantly and hesitatingly adds, 'I guess I could have said things more clearly so there would not be a misunderstanding."

Migs gives those words a thought. As he does he observes Skylar, who shows an indignant posture. He then nods slowly and says calmly: "I understand what this is about. You and king Verago are quite different in age, in behaviour… Both of your roles here in Vallestrella even are different. Sometimes that causes friction. Most of the time, however, it does not. I know how this feels. I went through the same experience becoming a Navegera. I, too, had to change to embody my role more smoothly. In the end, this has nothing to do with misunderstanding, Skylar. It has to do with responsibility."

"Oh, you sound like my father. He would say the exact same thing." Skylar tuts.

"True…" Migs replies casually and nods.

While retaining the same posture, Skylar smirks: "The only difference is: you sound boring saying it."

Migs rolls his eyes before he says: "Next time, listen more closely to everything I say rather than only the first part."

"Huh, listen to what?' Skylar says and starts laughing as he pounds Mig's shoulder using his paw, 'Ah, just kidding!"

Migs groans audibly. He looks at him and cordially says: "Come on, Skylar. Get yourself something to eat before we go. After all, you are expected on the other side of the portal to Avalor. Besides, lingering near your father now will do you no good."

Skylar feels that's a reasonable solution, and nods at Migs. It makes him filled with both excitement and regret. He knows not how to deal with both these feelings at the same time. Deep down, he knows his father's right; it's going to be a special moment, becoming a diplomat to the royal family of Avalor. Yet, he feels all this is going too fast. He'll arrive in Avalor soon. *What will my friends think of me when I have vanished so suddenly? Will they understand? Luckily, Migs is with me. He always knows what to do. Chief Zephyr and Cruz are there, also. I know them as well…* Skylar ponders.

Then he looks at Migs, who in turn is gazing at him as if waiting for something. Before Skylar can say anything, Migs asks: "Are you ready?"

Skylar nods slowly. Somehow saying this Migs gives him a secure feeling, making him smile a little. He spreads his wings. Migs follows suite. "Wings up, amigo!" Skylar says excitedly.

Together they set off. Both fly out of the Palace and set course to the portal. Now that they're outside, Migs goes flying next to Skylar. He's amiable towards him for his help taking down the Veloz Ciervos right after Veje had gotten injured. Skylar looks up as Migs moves next to him. Migs smiles at Skylar out of gratitude. "You were doing great yesterday. You were of valuable help to me during the hunt. I wanted to thank you for this in person." Migs says in an eased tone.

Skylar looks at Migs with a happy look on his face. However, it changes to one of amazement. For a brief moment, it's quiet between the two. Migs starts looking puzzled and at that point, Skylar replies: "So, now is your chance!"

Now Migs is the one who's filled with amazement and gazes at Skylar. He says slowly with an intonation as if a question: "Thanks for helping me."

Skylar bursts out in laughter and says: "Haha, you thanked me twice now! You are so grateful, Migs, haha! So… you are welcome. As you know, I am always happy to help!"

Migs releases a deep sigh at a thought that crosses his mind: *And again fooled by Skylar… Why do I keep being tricked by both him and Tudor so often? Though no time to consider myself now. Perhaps it is best if I should forget about this for now and raise another topic with him instead.*

*Migs is so easy to fool! What is it with Jaquins older than me and being tricked easily? Or he is just… Migs. Ah well, it is fun tricking him anytime!* Skylar thinks while looking straight ahead again.

Noticing Skylar is no longer paying attention to him, Migs assumes he's forgotten about that joke just now. He asks: "So, Skylar. Have you got any ideas who your fellow trainees are?"

Skylar looks at Migs once more: "Fellow trainees? I get to train other Jaquins while being trained by Cruz myself?"

"No, no!' Migs says somewhat agitated, 'That is not what I am sayi…"

"Yes, you do. And it sounds boring to me. Migs, you should change how you say things.' Skylar interrupts Migs and points his thumbs toward himself, 'Like I said back at the Palace. Be more like me!"

Migs shakes his head out of frustration before continuing: "Just listen to what I am asking you. Have you met the other Jaquins, those who will also receive training from Cruz?"

Skylar seems to think about it for a second or two. He then says enthusiastically: "How should I know? I am going to become a Guardian of Avalor! I will become the _best_, and a friend of princess Elena, too."

Migs sighs deep once again and says: "Never mind. You will see for yourself."

Shortly after they arrive at the portal. Skylar looks at Migs. His face betrays some uncertainty. He sees Migs looking back at him who easily picks up on this and says: "No worries, Skylar. You know Avalor, even though you have not spent much time there yet. With time this feeling will pass away. Besides, both you and I know Cruz well."

"Wait… 'you and I'?' Skylar asks surprised, '_You_ are coming, too?"

Migs nods having a smile on his face: "Of course! I was ordered so by king Verago. How else would he know if his son truly arrives where he is supposed to go?"

"Alright!' Skylar exclaims with joy but then realises something, 'Hey! No need for you to babysit me…"

"We will see about that." Migs whispers calmly.

Skylar gives him a sarcastic look. Then he realises something: "Oh, I almost forgot… What about our quota? Now that I go to Avalor I cannot contribute here…"

While saying this Migs steps toward a tree stump with a paw symbol on it standing in front of the portal. However, he holds back when hearing Skylar's question. Migs looks at Skylar without any expression. It seems he expects Skylar to know the answer himself. A brief moment of silence passes before he says: "Well, then you will be in Avalor. Simple, right? Means your mouth does not need to be fed here in Vallestrella."

Skylar frowns with a thought passing his mind: *That is true… Migs is boring, but he is smart, too.*

Migs proceeds to the tree stump. Standing in front of it he places his paw on the symbol. Immediately a palette consisting of many colours appears within the oval-shaped portal. They shine bright and are beautiful to look at, mesmerising even. Migs turns his head and says: "After you."

Without a single doubt, Skylar steps through the portal followed by Migs…


	9. Visiting Avalor - part 2

_Skylar moves to Avalor, where he'll learn what it takes to side with Elena, the crown princess of Avalor._

* * *

Once through the portal, Skylar notices he's inside a shaded place as sunlight barely reaches this far in. He knows exactly where he is, but he needs some time adjusting to the dim lighting conditions. He startles lightly, however, as a voice suddenly starts speaking to him: "Well, look who we have here. About time you showed up."

Skylar recognises this voice. It sounds familiar but he cannot immediately make up who it belongs to. Then he notices Migs is standing next to him now. "Eh… Skylar, prince of Vallestrella." the voice hesitantly says as if startled by Migs' presence.

By now Skylar has most of his vision back. He looks at a Jaquin in front of him. Bulky, wide head and huge paws both coloured in dark purple. *This must be a roy…* Skylar says to himself.

"Cruz." Migs states curtly yet polite.

"Migs, buddy! Long time, no see, eh?" Cruz says bearing a huge grin on his face.

Skylar almost jumps of joy as he shouts: "Cruz, amigo! There you are, haha!"

Cruz immediately replies chuckling cheerfully: "Whoa! Easy there. No need jumping at me like that!"

In the meantime, Migs walks up to the entrance of to what Skylar now clearly is a cave. There Migs looks from left to right, then turns around and sits down. "Yes, I know. We should be going. It took some time before you two got through." Cruz states firmly.

He walks toward where Migs is sitting, followed by Skylar. Migs stands up and turns around again. "Wings up, friends!" Cruz says confidently.

All fly off together and gain altitude. As they do, Skylar looks joyous still. He eyes Migs, who returns a smile. Just as Skylar wants to say something Cruz beats him to it: "Migs. Tell me, why are you coming with us?"

"He is here at the order of my father." Skylar answers enthusiastic on behalf of Migs and sounds proud.  
Migs replies calmly: "Thank you, Skylar. I am indeed."

"Nothing more? As in why he sent you here?" Cruz hastily asks.

*I get a feeling he does not want me here.* Migs thinks while keeping an eye on Cruz.

"I need to speak with chief Zephyr, about…" Migs answers unmoved but then falls silent as he doesn't want to let loose too much information.

"About what?" Cruz continues asking.

"That is something between me and king Verago." Migs states firm once again.

"Ah Migs, you are acting boring again.' Skylar adds to the conversation to which Cruz nods, 'So, Cruz. Tell me, do we have a quota here, as we have in Vallestrella? And how much do we need to contribute here?"

Cruz starts laughing. He looks at Skylar with a huge grin on his face while thinking: *Are you truly clueless? For a prince, you are rather oblivious… I doubt you will pass the trials, unlike me, who passed them flawlessly.*

He clears his throat before saying at a condescending tone: "Quota? Pff, in Vallestrella perhaps, yes. Here in Avalor chief Zephyr has appointed serfs doing that for us! As Navegera I can do whatever I wish. So do you being my trainee."

Without Skylar or Cruz noticing, Migs frowns at a thought of his: *Cruz seems to be feigning responsibility… I should keep an eye on him for the sake of Skylar.*

Migs feels he needs to respond to Cruz's statement and says firm once more: "_You_, Cruz, can do whatever _you_ want to train Skylar to the best of your abilities."

"Yeah, yeah. Of course, I will." Cruz says reluctant wavering away Migs' words.

Together, all three of them fly toward Mooncliff. "Chief Zephyr has been appointed by king Verago to teach new-born Jaquin cubs in Avalor and to look after their integration into the Jaquin clan. He will do so through the teachings of social values and code of conduct. So far the chief has taught two classes." Cruz says.

Skylar nods and replies: "Yeah, I heard about that! He used to teach new-borns in Vallestrella, too. Me included. I bet he is really old now!"

"Ha! Never tell him that! Just know chief Zephyr takes his role seriously! I do too and because of this I might become his successor one day." Cruz replies in both a heartily and bold manner.

"Wow! Amazing! Did he tell you that?" Skylar asks full of awe.

Cruz smirks at him and calmly says: "I know so!"

When approaching Mooncliff they spot chief Zephyr. Zephyr easily stands out from the rest through appearance alone. The grey coloured fur is one thing but his most apparent features are the thick manes surrounding his chest, throat, and neck, as well as the large eyebrows.

He clearly awaits them as he stiffly sits on a plateau in front of a big cave entrance, his home cave. He watches the three of them land near him. *No one has a similar degree of experience in overseeing the training of Jaquins becoming Guardians. This is no easy task, requiring a delicate effort in maintaining the qualifications for guardianship. This is our most important part of the security for both Vallestrella and Avalor.* he thinks while looking at Skylar, Migs, and Cruz.

Cruz lines everyone up in front of Zephyr and then sits himself down next to Skylar. Zephyr nods at him. "Thank you Cruz, for bringing me these fresh recruits. Let me introduce myself to any of you who do not know me yet. My name is Zephyr. All of you will address me as chief Zephyr, however. Now, you must be willing to start your training to become a Guardian of Avalor, I will first tell you some things you need to know about this place so that you will know of what you will be a Guardian in the first place. Avalor is home to humans. They are our closest allies here in this human world. We share many things, including our desire for exploration. This led us to them long ago using the portal you went through to reach Avalor. You see, there was a time when we…"

Cruz brings his head close to Skylar's and whispers: "Okay, you need to know the chief sometimes becomes nostalgic and starts rattling about the past that no one truly cares about."

"Should we…" Skylar starts but gets Cruz's wing shoved against his face preventing him from continuing.

"… Huh? Did someone want to say something?" Zephyr asks curtly of being interrupted.

"No, chief!' Cruz says hastily and releases an uneasy chuckle, 'Please, continue."

"Alright then. Humans first thought of us to be "alebrijes", spirit animals humans believe to exist. Something with guiding deceased loved ones to their living relatives once a year… Little did they know of us back then when clearly our relationship with them was brittle.' Zephyr says droningly with Migs hanging to his lips metaphorically and clears his throat before continuing, 'Well, let me end it here for you today. There is a lot you will find interesting, as well as much for you to see. Cruz will take you to your cave homes you will be utilising for sleeping and eating."

"Do we have a food quota we should abide to… uh, chief?" Skylar asks cautiously.

Zephyr smiles at Skylar: "Ah, good point, Skylar. Everyone! There is a quota here in Avalor like the one you know in Vallestrella. However, that does not count for any of you, trainees. You will get enough on your minds that will keep you occupied during your training. Now follow Cruz. He will show you around."

Many Jaquins start flocking around Cruz, gathering around him close up to the point he's no longer visible to anyone outside of this cramped group. All are in awe of their Navegera. All but one: Migs. He remains seated whilst all other Jaquins move over towards Cruz, thereby distancing himself passively from them, thinking: *Excellent! Now I can finally do what I had planned on doing on this lovely morning.*

He turns around and prepares himself to take to the skies, deciding to leave Mooncliff behind him for the time being. Meanwhile, Skylar's looking around, trying to find Cruz in the midst of the flock. He decides to eagerly await Cruz to approach him and personally invite him for a tour around Avalor. He and the other trainees. *I wonder who the other trainees are, and where they are… Anyhow, I will be asked first to be shown around! I am the prince, after all, and Cruz himself was waiting for me at the portal. Today is revolving around me, I just know it!* Skylar thinks while bearing a smile on his face.

However, Cruz isn't paying any attention to him at all, but instead acts delighted over all the attention he's getting from all the Jaquins around him, simply for being the Navegera. Slowly, Skylar realises Cruz has set himself other priorities than looking after his 'trainee'. Skylar feels deceived by Cruz through a thought he's having: *The Navegera has forgotten about me, despite me being a prince and all…*

Luna, who's trying to get into a conversation with Cruz, also doesn't get what she wants. *Argh, why is Cruz not seeing me? I am right here! I just want to talk… Does he not _want_ to see me? He knows I have a weakness for him…* she aggrievedly tells herself.

Skylar and Luna end up together. They look at each other, both noticing the disappointment radiating from each other's faces clearly. Skylar starts looking around trying to shift his mind to something else. Doing so has him spot Migs up in the air moving away from them. He watches him head for Avalor city and gets an idea. He looks at Luna and starts smirking: "Come on, I have a plan."


	10. Visiting Avalor - part 3

_Skylar's to be formally introduced to the royal family of Avalor as Jaquin representative. However, things work out differently from expected. Llemopaz, second of the two new Jaquin cubs, is introduced to the story._

* * *

Migs flies over the ocean at low altitude. He barely needs flapping his wings to maintain lift. On the way to the city he flies past some ships at sea either bound for or departing from Avalor. While flying past them, a huge smile appears on his face when a thought strikes him: *Ah, what a lovely day this is. The sun is strong, the sky brightly blue, the winds favourable… Truly splendid! It makes me feel so at ease. Yes, nothing will stir me now…*

However, this is about to change… "**On your left!**" Skylar shouts energetically while swooping past Migs.

Being severely disturbed in his "moment of zen", Migs exclaims a shriek of surprise before shouting Skylar's name of frustration. "**Look out!**" Luna shouts joyously and swoops past his right.

"**Luna, come on.**' Migs says now growing tired of them both already, '**It is too early for these shenanigans.**"

Skylar stops in his tracks in between two ships. While Migs approaches, Skylar starts hovering and replies happily: "**Oh, what are you so cranky about, Migs? The evil queen is gone, the majesty of Avalor has returned, and we are back on the flag!**"

Migs looks at Skylar unmoved as he watches the yellow and blue Jaquin fly up to the flag of Avalor fluttering on one of both ships. "**Strike a pose!**" Skylar exclaims energetically and with pride while he mimics one of the rampant Jaquins on the flag.

By now, Luna starts hovering next to Skylar and nods at him while bearing a huge smile on her face. Migs audibly sighs and thinks: *If only you would grow out of those juvenile habits of yours…*

"**Hey, let us see if princess Elena is up.**" Luna voices her idea joyously.

"**Great idea!**" Skylar exclaims in the same manner.

Both start flying toward the palace. Migs follows in close pursuit as he tries to convince them not to: "**Uh-uh. No way, you two. It is bad enough you woke me up!**"

Skylar and Luna land at Elena's balcony. "**Should we knock?**" Skylar asks looking at Luna.

"**Hey, princess, you up?**" Luna shouts at the closed balcony doors joyously.

Migs lands in between them and responds unmoved: "**She is now.**"

The doors to the bed-chamber open up and Elena steps through. With a smile on her face, she happily greets the Jaquins: "**Well, good morning!**"

Migs bows his head out of respect while apologising for the behaviour of both Skylar and Luna: "**Sorry if they woke you up, princess.**"

"**Woke me up?**' Elena asks and continues energetically after a brief yet gleeful laughter, '**I barely slept last night. I mean, how are you supposed to sleep the night before you become queen?**"

Luna immediately steps in and curiously asks: "**So when do you get your crown?**"

"**Tonight at the Royal Ball.**" Elena replies happily.

"**We will be there.**" Skylar adds confidently.

Migs turns his head looking at Skylar and magisterially says: "**Uh, we were not invited, Skylar.**"

"**Oh, you are always invited.**' Elena says and puts a hand on Migs' cheek, '**I'll see you tonight.**"

Elena steps back into her bed-chamber. "Well, now that is settled, let us rejoice over Avalor having regained its freedom!' Migs says delighted and continues slightly agitated after giving both Skylar and Luna a look, 'Before you two interrupted me in doing so."

All three simultaneously look up of surprise hearing Elena speak. With the balcony doors wide open, all of them have a clear view inside the bed-chamber, yet no one other than her is inside. "Who is she talking to?" Skylar whispers being filled with confusion.

"Yeah, who is this… Zuzo? No one but her is inside… Know what? Let us ask her." Luna adds and steps forward ready to speak up again.

At that point, she gets face-winged by Migs, who in turn says: "No. You disturbed her once. You will not get to do this again."

As they hear Elena being well into her conversation with Zuzo, a Jaquin approaches the three from behind and starts hovering above the balcony. "Skylar! Good to see you again! Especially under much finer circumstances now.' the Jaquin says and changes to a submissive tone of voice, 'Chief Zephyr has requested your presence at Mooncliff. Migs and Luna, you are welcome to join us."

After having flown back to Mooncliff they spot Zephyr in front of his cave home. He sits there gracefully, in front of a group of five Jaquin cubs. Among them is Kamil. *Something must be going on! Back in Vallestrella he always sat like that waiting for the Jaquin cubs he was training, including me.* Skylar thinks while gazing at Zephyr from afar.

All four, including the serf Jaquin that came to get them, land in front of Zephyr. "Welcome, new ones. I am always glad to see new faces joining our clan! My name is Zephyr and I am the chief. To you, I am known as chief Zephyr."

Cubs always find new things or aberrant features intriguing. Therefore, Zephyr will always hear the statement 'You have big eyebrows!' made by cubs who are new to his teachings. Since Zephyr hears this every time at the start of a new semester, he has grown accustomed and, above all, bored to this feature of his being pointed out repeatedly. Skylar knows this by now. He has overheard mothers speak of their cubs acting the same way, meaning he knows Zephyr always replies to the cubs with 'Yes, yes. I know…' and commences class. At this point, as it happens to be, Skylar's standing a little behind the chief and is awaiting this very moment: *Zephyr responds much like Migs would; predictable… Ooh, and boring. Especially the latter!*

Both he and Zephyr look at the cubs as they, in turn, observe them. Skylar hears the new cubs point out his huge eyebrows. While Zephyr hears the cubs point out his aberrant feature, he sighs once and indeed responds with 'Yes, yes. I know…'. However, Zephyr has no idea what's happening behind him. Skylar has mimicked those words, and bears a grin due to this "accomplishment" while thinking: *How fun this is!*

All the cubs start looking somewhat astonished. Never before have they witnessed two Jaquins speak simultaneously, and hear but a single voice! They have no idea how Zephyr and Skylar performed this trick. Kamil points at Skylar and shouts: "Wow! Skylar sounds like chief Zephyr!"

Zephyr immediately turns his head and gives Skylar a grumpy look. In turn, Skylar tries to hide his grin but cannot prevent it entirely while saying: "Ooh, those cubs really have a great imagination! Right, chief?"

"Skylar…,' Zephyr starts off using a deep but irritated voice that he changes to a grumpy one, 'can you act any different from these cubs, or would you like to help me teach them?"

"Eh, I suggest – we head into town, sooo you can – see for yourself what Avalor city has come to look like – nowadays, Skylar.' Migs stammers hesitantly trying to find the right words in preventing what he deems an escalation but realises it won't be enough to persuade both him and Luna, 'Who knows what fun and games they have there. I bet you want to find out!"

Hearing Zephyr's proposal makes Skylar pout, but this changes rapidly into an amiable smile upon hearing Migs' suggestion, which he likes much more. "Alright! What are we waiting for?" Skylar replies euphorically and quickly spreads his wings.

Skylar, Luna, and Migs take to the skies and head toward Avalor city. *Finally I get to do what I planned on doing earlier this morning: heading into Avalor city. I love to see all the people in Avalor city being busy again after that dreadful period they went through during the reign of that evil sorceress Shuriki.* Migs thinks excitedly.

* * *

_**VALLESTRELLA**_

Shaniqua had been talking to some other female Jaquins before returning to discuss with Tudor how to achieve their quota for today. Upon approaching the nest she decides she wants to make a grand entrance. Seemingly calculating her angle of attack from up high, she thinks: *I will fly in there at great speed, and land exactly in the middle of my nest without overshooting it. Ha! That will have him be in awe of me!*

She dives down to gain momentum. She focuses heavily on the centre of her nest. She aims for the entrance just right and Shaniqua swiftly flares to bleed off speed so she can land right onto the spot she pinpointed. While changing her angle of attack she crashes into something. She tumbles over the ground uncontrollably. When she comes to a stop she stands up immediately. "Ow, what was…' she says out loud and then sees Tudor lying next to her, 'Oh, Tudor! You here? I had not expe…"

"Ow, oof.' Tudor moans interrupting her as he tries to stand up, 'Shaniqua, what did you do that for?!"

"Eh, I – I performed a fast landing. Or it supposed to be one… I wanted to surprise you…" she answers hesitatingly quick for his reply.

"Well, you certainly did… Oof, my wings…" Tudor says slow and radiates utter displeasure.

he inspects his wings one by one. They crack faintly of stiffness and he shakes little every time a crack is heard. *Ouch, my wings… so delicate… Hurt.* he thinks with every crack he hears and feels.

* * *

_**AVALOR**_

Skylar, Luna, and Migs are circling Avalor city trying to find any game Migs was talking about. So far, no games are found, except for loads of people strolling about below them. Skylar pouts as he looks around. He was promised joy, but instead finds nothing in the slightest. "Ugh… Migs, you promised fun, but I should have known that your "fun" is all but fun. We have been circling for so long now and found nothing… There is absolutely no fun here!" Skylar says indignantly and snorts of bitter annoyance.

Just as Skylar want decides to circle once more before flying off, he hears a familiar voice calling out to him '**Oh, Skylar. Skylar!**' from below. He looks down and spots Elena waiving at him. He immediately descends with Luna and Migs following suit. He lands in front of her and carefully asks: "**Is everything okay, princess?**"

"**No. My sister was taken.**" Elena says worriedly.

"**No.**" Skylar says of disbelieve.

"**Isabel?**" Luna asks startled.

"**Just when I thought the kingdom was getting safer.**" Migs says despondently.

Skylar doesn't want to think about such thing: *This is not helping anyone now. I need to act, now that I am trained to become a Guardian of Avalor!*

He turns his side to Elena and says: "**Climb on. We will search from the air.**"

Esteban approaches Elena and states firm: "**Elena, it is far too dangerous for you to go after boat thieves.**"

"**If I'm gonna rule this kingdom, I can't be afraid of taking on a few thieves.**" Elena replies confidently.

*Well said, princessa!* Skylar thinks proudly.

"**Exactly!**" Naomi adds in Elena's defense.

Elena feels glad to have support from her and adds: "**Come on, Naomi.**"

Naomi startles briefly, not having expected to hear this. "**Wait, what?**' she replies a little confused, '**You want me to go with you? On one of those things?**"

Migs feels insulted by Naomi in, to how he would call it, the way she describes his kind, thinking: *Preposterous! She has lived here for a long time, so she must know about us. How dare she…*

*Excuse me! What did you just call us?* Luna thinks being offended by Naomi's way of addressing her.

Their thoughts make them both want to respond but they're beaten to it. "**Hello, we are Jaquins! National symbols. You may have seen us on the flag.**" Skylar says indignantly and sulky still yet proudly beckons to a flag nearby.

"**You're the only one who knows what the ship looks like.**' Elena adds worried but changes her tone of voice to a comforting one, '**You'll be fine.**"

Once they're up in the air Naomi exclaims: "**This is so not fine!**"

Luna feels Naomi's body pressing more against her back, as well as her grip around her throat tighten to a degree that displeases Luna, yet there's one thing she finds unsatisfactory even more. "**Hey, watch the feathers, would ya?**" Luna asks slightly agitated as she feels her fur and feathers becoming ruffed.

Naomi starts explaining about the creatures she saw on the last ship that got stolen. Luna shakes her head hearing about it. She already knows what Naomi's talking about. She looks at Skylar, who looks back at her, and notices he thinks the same thing: *Noblins! The poor creatures we helped rescue from Shuriki. Why does Naomi not know them? Anyway, I wonder what they want with those ships?*

* * *

_**VALLESTRELLA**_

Veje wakes up the day after the incident. Lucky for him king Verago allowed him to sleep in. Veje goes to turn from his side to his back which he always finds a comfortable position to lie in. While doing so he suddenly feels a sting in his lower back. Pain surges through his body that makes him moan of agony a little. Quickly he returns to his side. He twitches a bit doing so with a thought crossing his mind: *Ouch! My back still feels sore… Did that Veloz Ciervos hit me that hard? Oof… Ouch again… How am I to get rid of this pain? Maybe I should get up and stretch limbs and wings as I was instructed to…*

Veje tries getting up. Pain radiates from his lower back to his abdomen and left upper back, which makes Veje almost collapse. Barely he makes it on all four. Now that he's gotten up he immediately feels much better already. Lucky for him some time has passed since the incident now half a day ago, so his body was able to recover somewhat. He decides to take to the skies and see how this works out for his still sore body…

* * *

_**AVALOR**_

The rescue party flies up high. They want to know where the stolen ship is. Suddenly they spot something else that they're looking for. Skylar dives down and is followed in quick succession by Luna and Migs. They start flying at low altitude above a river and follow it shortly until Matteo shouts: "**Elena, there's a fork in the river. Which way do we go?**"

"**We could split up.**" Naomi immediately pitches an idea of hers.

"**No, wait.**' Elena says with something catching her attention, '**There's something in the water.**"

"**How dare they litter our beautiful kingdom?**" Skylar exclaims at the sight of what appears to be paper floating on the water.

*Well, well, Skylar. I never thought those words to come from your mouth.* Migs thinks both proud and relieved.

Elena identifies one of the pieces quickly. "**No, it's a piece from Isabel's journal.**' she exclaims worried and looks at Naomi and Matteo, '**She must be leaving us a trail.**"

The rescue party pushes forward, following the pages from Isabel's diary to see where it'll lead them…

* * *

_**VALLESTRELLA**_

Tudor and Shaniqua just had breakfast and start fooling around in their nest. They chase each other's tail and displace one another doing so. Shaniqua spots an opening in Tudor's defenses and rolls onto him. They chuckle while he tries to roll her over to get on top. While struggling to get the upper hand she suddenly says at a serious tone of voice: "Huh, I – heard someth-ing crack."

"I heard – nothing." Tudor replies and continues playing.

"Well, some-thing… cracked ben-eath you." Shaniqua continues while fending him off.

"I guess… you ar-e heavy, hehe."

Shaniqua gasps outrageously from disbelieve of how Tudor, whom she's been so close with for all those years, can say such a thing of her knowing him and his rude behaviour pretty well. Shaniqua lifts herself up little and then drops her full weight onto Tudor's belly while saying: "No in-sult…"

Tudor: "Ouch! Ah, y-you really… are hea-vy!"

Shaniqua slams one of her paws against his face to which he yells: "Not the face! Unf-fair!"

"Your fau-ult."

A crackling sound comes from beneath them once more and this time they both hear it. They immediately seize playing and wait for something to happen. *Okay… Nothing is happening so far.* Shaniqua thinks a little anxious.

"Is… Is our nest falling apart?" Tudor cautiously asks using a high-pitched voice.

Shaniqua immediately replies with: "I hope n…"

However, she cannot finish what she's intending to say as loud and continuous cracks take over. They immediately stop moving entirely and start listening carefully. Then, without any further warning, the branches making up the nest beneath them break. Before Tudor realises what's happening he feels the floor underneath him sink away. Unable to respond to it in time both Tudor and Shaniqua fall through the failing nest floor. Shaniqua tries pushing herself off from Tudor's chest to counteract this freefall. Yet, she loses grip. They keep falling through the nest floor with loud sounds of snapping twigs and branches breaking closely around them. It disorients both. A brief moment later, which seems like a minute to him, Tudor feels something solid hitting his back that stops him from falling any farther, immediately followed by Shaniqua landing with her belly onto his. He sees leaves and tiny, broken twigs falling around them still. He glances around and notices he's lying on a thick branch supporting the nest. This event leaves both Jaquins with a frightful look on their faces. They gaze at each other. Both their eyes are filled with utter surprise of what just happened. Suddenly, both burst out in cackling laughter as they slowly recover from this frightful moment. Shaniqua looks at how she's lying, which appears to be diagonally on Tudor, her face close to his. "It seems I landed on something soft." she says when able to giggle after cackling.

"Lucky you." Tudor says soothingly and groans.

* * *

_**AVALOR**_

By now, Skylar reached the stolen ship. He smoothly lands on the ship's upper deck in such a fashion so that Elena can easily pick up Gabe's sword lying there. A brief moment later he receives instructions from Elena to bring Isabel to safety. "**You got it.**" he replies in a controlled manner.

The moment Elena turns away from him he decides to take to the skies with Isabel on his back. *This is the best thing to do right now. Staying on that ship will definitely lead me into problems.* he convinces himself that breaking away from the team is the best option now.

While he starts flying in circles above the ship he can hear indistinct commotion rising from down below. "**Great, now everyone wants a ride.**" Migs says as he gets hounded by a few Noblins.

"**Uh-uh. None of you getting on my back.**" Luna says dismissively at the same time with anxiety radiating from her eyes.

*Wow, looks like I took off at the right time.* Skylar thinks as he witnesses the situation from up high.

While circling the ship he alternates his attention to both Isabel and the situation on deck, where Migs gets surprised by a Noblin who found a way to climb onto his head. *Argh. I cannot see!* he thinks as the Noblin uses its hands to cover Migs' eyes.

Luna still tries to fend off the two Noblins cornering her. At some point, she can hear a voice yell '**Throw her overboard!**'. Her attention is immediately directed at Elena. *Oh no! I gotta help her! But… I cannot go anywhere right now. Naomi cannot do anything, either!* she thinks in the agony of being unable to provide help being a Guardian of Avalor.

At the same time, the Noblin on Migs' head is distracted by the situation. Migs deftly shakes his head, causing the Noblin to fall off. *Hah, just what you deserved!* Migs thinks proudly of having beaten his tiny foe.

Just as he succeeded in shaking off the Noblin he startles from a loud thud followed by cracking sounds of wooden planks breaking. He shuts his eyes and looks away reflexively for a brief moment. Elena managed to raise herself onto a mast at the expense of wooden crates having crashed on the deck. Luna watches it unfold in front of her. She also notices the two Noblins in front of her jumping away to avoid being hit by the falling crates. This only lasts for a second or two, as the Noblins regroup and start assailing the remainder of the Jaquins and humans on the deck of what they believe to be "their" ship.  
Both Luna and Migs strike at the Noblins to keep them at bay. *These guys really show some perseverance!* Migs thinks as he starts feeling exhausted from the intense battling.

* * *

_**VALLESTRELLA**_

Back in Vallestrella, Sienté just finished her quota and visits the Palace to deliver the gathered fruit in one of the storage rooms. There, she collects some medicinal herbs. Avira shows up a little later. This morning, Sienté is going to teach Avira about herbal mixtures and how to make them. While laying out some herbs she says: "Mix those two herbs together. Take both in your mouth and chew on them briefly until they get soft.

Then put them on this big leaf."

"You mean this one… and this here?"

"Correct. Do not chew too long on them, though, or swallow them."

"Why?"

"Together they cause numbness. You know, to mask pain. But it also paralyses movement."

"How do you know when it works?"

"Well, whoever is experiencing pain, or has difficulty flying or walking, can have this applied on the spot causing it. After some time that Jaquin will again move around as if not experiencing pain at all. Best is if you see for yourself how it works... Speaking of which, we should test this out – on someone…"

"That is not okay… to do, right?"

"Nah.' Sienté waivers away Avira's concern, 'It will not hurt anyone… Hmm, this just gave me an idea. Do you know what happened yesterday? Between Skylar and Tudor?"

"Ow, they had a fight I heard. Nothing serious, right?" Avira says reluctantly.

"They did. If that ever happens again we should feed a little of this mixture to both of them. It will make them shut up for once." Sienté says with little yet audible annoyance to her voice.

"So they no longer brag for a while, hihi." Avira says and both females start giggling.

* * *

_**AVALOR**_

Back in the air, Skylar saw Elena reach the mast. He closes in on her. Just when he wants to shout how she's doing he can hear her talking again, talking to seemingly no one, just like in her bed-chamber. *Why is she doing that? Is she… alright? I definitely should ask her about this soon.* Skylar thinks out of deep concern.

Shortly after, Elena makes her way down again and starts talking to the Noblins. *I guess she convinced them of something. Way to go, princessa!* Skylar thinks proudly.

He slowly descends to fly around the tip of the masts of the ship. When he hears cheering arise below him he decides to land behind Elena, watching everyone closely as they speak.

* * *

_**VALLESTRELLA**_

A Jaquin cub sees his mother return from a hunt. He gives her a rub with his head against the underside of her chin. She returns the gesture by rubbing her face against his turquoise-furred head covered with fern green feathers on the sides, also found on his small wings and heels. His body is decorated with a fern green pattern of tiny snowflakes. She greets him: "Good day, Llemopaz."

He looks at her with shining eyes that only a youngster can show. He is in awe of his mother who, despite it being the males who take care of the cubs, is highly committed to caring care for him. Llemopaz says to her: "Mamita, you are beauti-most mom in world!"

She smiles at him and gives him another pat on the head. Then he starts singing her a song he learnt from Zephyr:

"Yoū and I look differēnt, in cōlour and in sīze. Yēt we are the sāme, no mātter if-I disguīse. Wē are-āll Jaquins, flying wing by wīng. But yoū and-I are similār, that is why I sīng."

* * *

_**AVALOR**_

By now, the rescue party arrives back at the palace. *Grateful for feeling the solid ground underneath my paws again. I was about to get seasick back on that ship with all those angry Noblins…* Luna thinks after touching down.

Isabel starts telling the entire story to her grandparents in one go. Migs nods in compliance with all the correct details she says. After hearing the last part of her story, he thinks: *Exactly. End well, all well. Luckily everyone is back home safely.*

* * *

_**VALLESTRELLA**_

Sienté's done teaching Avira for now. She decides to pay Veje a visit to observe the progress on his recovery. Arriving at his and Dióntan's nest she only finds Veje there. "Hi, Veje. I see you are doing much better now! I am glad.' she says motherly yet something makes her look hotted and excitedly continues, 'By the way! Have you heard about Skylar? He is to become a Guardian of Avalor. That is wicked!"

"So did I! I am rooting for him." Veje agrees happily.

She teasingly adds: "I would be happy for you, as well, if you would become one yourself."

Veje: "Haha, that is sweet! You do know I cannot become a Guardian, right? I am one of the King's Guard. I cannot serve anyone else but king Verago. Unless, of course, he strips me from that rank…"

"Ow, I had forgotten… You look totally different from a Royal Guard, hihi. But now that you mention it… Tell me, how have you actually joined those ranks? I, and others with me, am curious to know!" Sienté says filled with curiosity.

Veje chuckles and says calmly: "Come on. You must have heard that story going around more than once. Unless you were hearing a _different_ version from Tudor, that is…"

"Of course I heard that story. I just want to hear it from you. You know, since it revolves around you."

Veje slowly says confidently: "Okay, I will tell you what happened…"

* * *

_**AVALOR**_

The attendees to the coronation of Elena as the crown princess are listening to Armando introducing Elena. Right after this moment, Migs comes flying into the throne room with Skylar and Luna on his tail: "**Ladies and gentlemen, we have arrived!**"

"**We are still invited, right?**" Skylar adds joyously.

While Elena enjoys applause from all attendees for her new role, Skylar, Luna, and Migs fly above them all in random circles…

* * *

**DISCLAIMER****: **All lines in bold and the environmental detailing in the first paragraph as well as under all '**_AVALOR_**' sections, are obtained from the episode "First Day of Rule" of the _Elena of Avalor_ series, as are the characters appearing on that show, and are owned by the Walt Disney Company.


	11. Visiting Avalor - part 4

_Chief Zephyr has important news for Skylar. Together with Elena, Luna, and Migs he goes to see him, but they're not the only guests Zephyr will be receiving…_

* * *

Everyone is in a celebrative mood. For any inside the throne room, the day draws to a better close than expected. Elena now has become the crown princess, a title she holds dear as she considers it a "promotion" toward her most favoured dream: obtaining the title of queen one day. Luisa and Fransisco came to finally see their grandchild acquiring and dealing with the responsibility they wished her to learn in her journey to becoming a queen. Esteban realises he's able to serve his beloved homeland still now that he is a member of the Royal Council. Skylar, Luna, and Migs are proud that they were able to serve and protect Avalor, a noble cause worth fighting for, in which their teamplay proved crucial.

While everyone is enjoying the party, another Jaquin cautiously appears in the doorway that Skylar, Luna, and Migs used to enter the throne room. He steps up to the banister of the balcony that's part of the double-sided staircase leading down and remains there standing. From up there and for a brief moment, he lets his eyes go through the entire room looking at many a people, after which he looks down and says: "Remember, son. We are here only to ask Skylar to come with us."

At that moment a Jaquin cub appears in between his front legs. He peers through the balusters, which to him are tall. With eyes wide open, the young one looks down unto the people below, who're happily talking about the appointing of princess Elena as the crown princess. They don't notice the two, but he can observe them all. The diversity of fine brocade clothing and equally appealing dresses display a myriad of colours, as well as a diverse array of faces accompanying them. The young Jaquin has never laid eyes upon such a sight before. He would find himself mesmerised if it weren't for movement coming into view ahead of him. He looks up and notices it belongs to three Jaquins. "Skylar!" he cries out enthusiastically.

The mumbling dies down and the throne room falls silent. Everyone looks up to where the shout originates from. Their eyes find the little Jaquin and his father quickly, who both in turn startle from all the sudden and, above all, unexpected attention the cub just drew upon himself. With eyes still wide open, yet now of anxiety, he looks at all the eyes staring at him. Then, from amidst the crowd, Luisa says with a sweet voice: "Gosh, look at that little one. How cute! What's your name, young Jaquin?"

"Ah, the more the merrier." Fransisco calmly adds complimenting his wife's enthusiasm for another guest to this party.

This enthusiasm, however, isn't shared by Esteban. He shows clear dissatisfaction over these uninvited guests whose unannounced entry caught him by surprise, something he truly dislikes and rather avoids in its entirety. "Who invited them?" he agitatedly asks in general not afraid to show being upset.

Skylar immediately flies over to him, ignoring all things said effectively, replying enthusiastically: "Hey, Kamil! Did you come here to feast with us?"

"Eh… No… My dad and I – came here…" Kamil stammers from being a bit unsettled still.

"That is right, Kamil.' the Jaquin takes over calmly and addresses Skylar, 'Once again, I come to collect you, and Luna and Migs if they wish to join, to escort you on behalf of chief Zephyr. He has some questions regarding your guardian training."

Almost everyone inside the throne room is able to overhear, Elena included. She becomes overwhelmed with curiosity and cannot refrain from asking: "Where are you guys heading, Skylar?"

"We are going to Mooncliff, princessa.' Skylar answers enthusiastically still and nods heartily, 'No worries! We will come back to this awesome party."

Migs comes hovering next to Skylar, followed by Luna. "First things first, Skylar.' he says and directs his attention at Elena, 'Care to join? This means it is something important that we gladly want you to be part of… That, or he is in trouble again."

"Either way, we want to find out!" Luna adds and smirks at Skylar teasingly.

The Jaquin nods at Elena and replies submissively: "Chief Zephyr would be pleased if you could, princess Elena."

Elena looks at all the attendees inside the throne room. She displays a slight gesture of awkwardness by holding her arms closely along her body with hands crossed. "If you'll excuse me, everyone. I need to attend someplace else for a brief moment. I'll be back before you know it, hihi!" Elena says addressing everyone as she starts walking through the crowd towards the Jaquins.

While Luisa and Francisco nod in agreement, Esteban, however, dismissively says: "Uh-uh-uh. The crown princess isn't to leave until the ceremony is over. It'll be disrespectful to all attendees if she did."

Elena hops onto Skylar's back, who landed next to her during the conversation. "Don't worry, cousin. I'll be back shortly. After all, I was informed yesterday that a request from Zephyr would mean something special.' Elena says with a smile and while Skylar takes off she adds, 'See you guys in a moment!"

"But, but, but… You cannot just…" Esteban stammers at Elena's sudden decision.

Isabel and Luisa simultaneously shout after her: "Stay safe!"

Elena, Skylar, Luna, Migs, and the serf Jaquin along with Kamil, leave the throne room altogether. They fly toward Mooncliff.

Upon their arrival, all notice Zephyr waiting for them. Zephyr becomes excited and starts radiating this through a smile and getting upright. "Well, well. Just in time…' he says as the Jaquins land and changes to a respectful yet delighted tone when spotting a special passenger, 'Princess Elena. I am honoured that you were able to come along."

"Hello, chief Zephyr.' Elena says joyously and giggles slightly of excitement, 'I heard Skylar is undergoing Guardian training."

One by one, Elena, Luna, and Migs testify on Skylar's behalf on saving Isabel from the Noblins, and the teamwork he instigated to accomplish this. While Zephyr hears them out one by one he becomes ecstatic and gives Skylar an amiable smile and nods agreeing. When all have spoken he addresses him with excitement: "Hearing all of these sides of the story makes me more than pleased with you, and surely your father will be as well. Because of your splendid performance in this delicate matter, you leave me no choice. Skylar, you have hereby passed Guardian training. You may now call yourself a Guardian of Avalor!"

Filled with ecstasy Skylar jumps into the air. "Woohoo! Yeah" he cries out in sheer happiness.

After landing back on all fours, Elena steps up to him and cups his head in her hands. "I am so proud of you! Having become a Guardian of Avalor.' she says joyously and embraces him in a warm manner, 'Congratulations, Skylar!"

"Thanks, Elena!" Skylar replies happily and starts wagging his tail.

"I am very happy for you that Zephyr announced your graduation as Guardian of Avalor, Skylar. I am proud of you. Well done!" Migs says filled with pride.

"Aw, thanks, Migs!' Skylar responds energetically, 'Those words coming from a former Navegera means a lot to me."

"Now, you will need to excuse me since the Navegera only has two trainees left to train I have to tend matters elsewhere." Zephyr says sternly as always yet with a happy smile and walks off towards his cave home.

"As do I." Elena says and doubtfully ponders over how long she's been away from the ceremony.

"Allow me to take you back to the palace, princess.' Migs says calmly and looks at Skylar, 'I will see you guys there."

While Migs takes to the skies with Elena on his back, Skylar and Luna sit down together. Skylar still cannot believe he passed the tests and successfully became a true Guardian. He has the grandest smile on his face he's ever had and nods at Luna in delight. "Welcome to the club!' Luna happily says smiling and gives him a winged high five, 'Now that you earned this title… How are we going to celebrate?"

"Dad!" Skylar suddenly yells and looks startled.

"Hey, no need yelling!…' Luna says agitated but realises what he said and becomes confused, 'Wait, with your father? But we are here now – and he is not."

It's indeed Verago that Skylar saw, who approaches Luna from behind. Skylar hesitantly looks at his father with an almost submissive look on his face. He can never foretell what's to come with his father. Should he greet Verago happily now he's a true Guardian of Avalor, or is he in trouble for yelling at his father this morning?

"Skylar.' Verago wheezes a little as he lands close to them and smiles at his son as he catches his breath, 'I am fond of the news I had received. I am glad about it and would want to congratulate you in person. Alas, I would like to speak with Zephyr in private before I do so. Important matters need tending first."

"Which means you are in trouble, again." Luna whispers at Skylar and smirks.

He leaves Skylar out of the upcoming conversation on purpose, as he doesn't want anyone mingling in or interrupting him. He flies over to Zephyr and lands next to the old Jaquin sitting upright gracefully in front of his cave home, clearly waiting. "Chief Zephyr."

Zephyr bows his head showing respect. "King Verago. I was expecting you." he says calmly.

Verago nods once and says happily: "Ah, I heard Skylar passed his training. Is that so?"

Zephyr nods but his face displays concern: "You heard right, king Verago. Skylar passed the trial. He may call himself a Guardian of Avalor now."

"We are lucky to have some fast-paced members that bring around such news. I cannot stress more how pleased I am with this. Not only for him but considering especially a grand occasion as pairing Skylar, our prince, with the crown princess of Avalor. So, tell me now, Zephyr. How did he accomplish this in but a single day?"

"I must express that Skylar acted outstandingly today. He ended up in a situation no one had foreseen, one that happened to assess all of the skills a Guardian needs. Reports by princess Elena, Luna, and Migs have informed me elaborately. I found this of enough value to justify the graduation."

Verago nods slowly yet understandingly: "I am glad to hear this. I know Skylar can be troublesome at times. So, I can only assume Cruz has performed outstandingly!' Verago says excitedly yet noticing Zephyr looking distant and continues using a firm voice, 'However, if you tell me such vigorous news, then why does your face express otherwise?"

Zephyr releases an uneasy sigh as he looks away. "Truth be told, there is – something you must know of Cruz. He has always focused on his ideals strongly. Even more so now that he is the Navegera, through which he, unfortunately, lacks devotion in training Skylar and the other trainees. It seems Cruz is unwilling, or perhaps unable, to convey his teachings unto others… I feel no trainee will pass guardian training this year, if not for the situation Skylar got himself caught in to occur." Zephyr says clearly hesitating and faces Verago again.

However, before he can continue Verago steps in radiating surprise: "How do you mean? First, you tell me Skylar passed the trial, and now you tell me he was the only one participating, in a trial you had not – devised? How can this be? Chief Zephyr, I demand answers from you." Verago says voicing his agitation over the ambivalent explanation provided.

"I understand, king Verago. You must know I had a part in this. When I realised today that Cruz barely guides his trainees and above all prepares them poorly for the trials ahead, I came to understand one thing. If we are to pair Skylar with princess Elena within this year still it be in the best interest if Skylar would do so as a Guardian. Thus, I saw no option other than to intervene. The situation unfolding itself today came at the right time. I – could not have devised a more cunning one myself to test a guardian in the making. I had to make this decision."

Verago grunts peevishly: "I see… I take your word for it. Yet, I do need to add that you erred. You erred with guardian training and thereby intervened with the Navegera! These are not our ways… But I need not tell you this. However, I refrain from complaining. The situation that Skylar went through, with or without aid, seemed dire at the very least. Was he truly ready for this?"

Zephyr takes an upright, utterly graceful, position and confidently says: "I concur the situation was undesirable. Given the fact he had help from two formidable Guardians, as well as princess Elena, I am convinced that he was in good paws always all the way through. Skylar truly outperformed himself today. I hope he will act this way at all times when need be."

"So he should. Alas, there is no need to keep arguing over this and alter the outcome. It is as it stands. Skylar remains a Guardian. I am proud of him, and I need to tell him this. Chief Zephyr, carry on your duties."

"Certainly, king Verago. It was a pleasure having you." Zephyr says out of respect and calmly.

Verago turns around and notices Skylar and Luna still sitting in the stone circle where he left them. Before returning to Vallestrella, he will have a word with his son regarding today's developments…


	12. Sweet preparations - part 1

_Veje feels much better, and together with Sienté he goes to see Verago. He has something important to discuss, but not just with him…_

* * *

Though his right side still hurts and feeling tired even after a good night's sleep, Veje's flying around the Palace perimeter. He's in search of something. He lets his eyes look around. He focuses on what is below him, paying close attention to the ground like a bird of prey in search of a next meal. As he looks around he finds the Palace in front of him. He flies towards it. While closing in on it his eyes suddenly fixate on something. *Ah, there you are! I was looking for you.* Veje thinks excited and starts circling as he descends towards the ground.

He finds a female Jaquin in front of the Palace, on a flat rock near its entrance, lying on her back. As he keeps descending Veje gets a better picture of her, which brings him to a thought: *She is laying herself out. She just likes to sunbathe so much! I, too, should do this sometime today. It is such fine weather!*

Jaquins are known to adore sunny days. They love relaxing and sunbathing in the early morning and early evening when the sun is not shining down onto them forcefully. Especially mornings present a moment for sunbathing activity. At this time of day, the flat rocks found in the open without protection from the sun's rays have become comfortably warm by then, making for a cozy place to lie on that Jaquins love during sunbathing. On the contrary, that same flat rock also serves another, entirely different, purpose in the afternoon when becoming too hot to lie on. They effectively become stoves for baking ingredients on, enabling Jaquins to actually do some cooking and prepare hot meals!

By now, Veje has closed in on the Jaquin and decides to land near her. "Sienté…" he starts off but is unable to say what he'd intended.

"Hi, Veje! I see you are flying again, and you fly without difficulty. Wow, that is good!" Sienté says gladly in seeing him act as if uninjured.

"Yes! I am glad, too. I feel good like I am reborn.' Veje says euphorically with his wings spread wide and starts smiling from cheek to cheek, 'You helped me outstandingly yesterday. I came here to express my sincere thanks for that!"

"You are more than welcome!' Sienté replies warmly while smiling back at him and continues at a serious tone of voice, 'To be honest, you left me no choice. I had no idea what to expect when Migs came and took me to you. I was truly shaken with the condition you were in when I arrived. I had never seen a Jaquin in such bad shape before, really… Speaking of which. What happened to you? What – were you doing?"

Veje looks at her. He notices from her choice of words that she truly was worried about him. *Perhaps she is still.* he thinks in secret hoping there's more to it.

"Did Migs not tell you?" Veje asks surprisedly.

"No.' Sienté replies brief and looks away for a second before continuing, 'We all know he can overreact at times when unknown situations occur… and when they appear dire. Yet I noticed he looked really worried so I knew something had happened, but I could not predict it would be that bad."

"Well, I got hit… Well, bash is more like it. We were hunting a Veloz Ciervos with Migs leading the hunt. At some point, I decided to fly in front of it." Veje says.

"In… front of it? Really? It is dangerous to fly in its path!' Sienté almost cries out and frowns hearing him say this but then reminds herself of something, 'Veje, I know you. You love to dawdle around, not speeding as Skylar does. Everyone knows Veloz Ciervos are the fastest of all species…"

"I know, I know… It – is in my nature to do things easy…' Veje says hastily while looking uncomfortably but continues at a more eased tone, 'But I _can_ sprint. I mean, I am not really slower than anyone else, I just decide to do so whenever I please."

"Haha, so you do. More often than not I must add.' Sienté says jokingly and winks at him, 'So, tell me. Why did you fly in front of a Veloz Ciervos in the first place? What were you thinking… if at all? Did Migs perhaps instruct you to do so?"

"No, I decided this myself. To be honest with you, I wanted to impress the others in the hunting party. By flying in front of it I wanted to slow it down and distract it. That way Migs could grab it and make the hunt a success… and – it worked!" Veje says happily yet reticently.

"You should go and see king Verago.' Sienté adds calmly and rubs a paw over Veje's troubled looking face, 'He wants to know how you are doing, and probably discuss a thing or two."

Veje agrees and together head over to the Palace. Upon their arrival they see Verago enter the Palace in a hurry, followed suite by Skylar, Nico, Luna, and Migs. Veje and Sienté look at one another being clueless and enter the Palace as well.

Inside the Palace, Veje notices it's crowded. Many Jaquins have amassed and moved into the throne room. They heard of the trial taking place and wish to know what Verago will decide on for future hunts, after the accident involving Veje. Tudor and Shaniqua are in the grand hallway still, though Shaniqua seems to be spurring Tudor in going into the throne room as well. Veje looks at the many Jaquins in front of him as he and Sienté enter the throne room. *It is truly crowded this time of day! It seems something attracts them to this place, yet what is everyone waiting for? Is king Verago having an audience?… Or does he wish to speak with me in front of everyone? Ugh… I truly hope for the first…* he thinks hesitantly while experiencing a mildly agonising nervosity.

Waiting beside him, Sienté seems equally shaken, gazing around also as if lost in the abundance of all these vivid souls. However, this intense moment doesn't last long for her as she notices something waiving at her. Fixating on it she discovers it's a wing, one belonging to Dulce who's looking her way and seemingly in a happy mood. Sienté returns the same gesture accompanied by a genuine smile, and before walking over to Dulce she says to Veje: "See you in a minute."

Veje doesn't notice he's spoken to. There's much activity unfolding around him. He tries to make something out of this crazy situation, if he wants to find out what's happening and, more importantly, why he's here in the first place. Amidst all this chaos, he does recognise something orderly, something he's all too familiar with: the King's Guards firmly stand at attention, side by side in two lines facing each other, with their wings neatly folded alongside their body. It's the display they're most famous for. By the look of them, bluntly staring forward, Veje can tell they're awaiting Verago's next command. Behind both lines, other Jaquins have clumped together in two disorganised flocks, one of which Sienté has just become part of. *I cannot wait to join the guards again, standing there with my fellow brothers!* he tells himself gleefully in sheer confidence.

At that point, Tudor and Shaniqua enter the throne room. He and Sienté notice Kamil immediately landing upon entering behind them. He turns around and yells at Tudor: "Quickly now, big brother!"

Tudor resists entry. He's struggling to get loose from Shaniqua's strong grasp, which seems a fight to no avail. He knows the king is waiting in the throne room that fuels his struggle. He just came to the realisation this may have something to do with the hunting party he was part of, which obviously had been involved in an accident. Usually, this means Verago isn't pleased and wants to know every practical detail of that situation. By now, he feels Shaniqua is trying her hardest to get him to go into the throne room. Getting tired struggling, he sees no other way than giving up the fight and starts acting as dead weight instead. He doesn't want to, which he voices agitatedly: "Come on! Do I really have to? This is rubbish!"

Tudor's effort, however, is futile. He cannot prevent being dragged into the throne room by Shaniqua slowly, who grunts with each pull while holding him by the wings. "Yes! You were… involved in the… hunt yesterday.' Shaniqua snarls at him and points at the throne room using a wing, 'The – others are here… already."

"Argh! I just want to have a look inside the storage rooms to look at all the food we gathered for tomor…"

"No more – excuses!"

Dióntan sees the scene of Tudor being dragged into the throne room unfold in front of him. He quickly prods both Nico and Avira, of who he stands in between, winks at Avira and says: "Well, well. Look what the cat dragged in."

All three start laughing. "Hehe.' Tudor snickers joining the laughter around him until he realises it's about him and starts muttering highly displeased, 'Oh… Not cool."

In a reaction to Dióntan's joke followed by Tudor's remark, Shaniqua cackles briefly. "Worth it!" she exclaims joyously.

In between the double ranks and in front of Verago, sit Skylar and Migs. Skylar seems calm and focuses on his father predominantly. Migs, on the other hand, seems nervous. Acting skittishly, he quickly gazes around him a number of times, apparently awaiting someone. His eyes grow larger when noticing Veje, seemingly surprised at having found him. He immediately beckons Veje to move closer through a rapid motion made with his head. Veje adheres to this yet casually approaches Migs. He sits down next to Skylar, who gives him an amiable smile. Veje looks at his king, mumbling inaudibly: "I hope you are not highly critical of me about yesterday…"

Three out of four Jaquins that formed the hunting party yesterday now sit in front of their king. Verago, sitting on his throne gracefully, lets his eyes go past them all, his face showing indignancy. Given ample time, neither Skylar, Migs, or Veje seem able to read their king. Verago then gives a slight yet noticeable nod shortly after. Not to them, but to someone behind them. Before any of them can respond to this, two loud thumping sounds of paws tapping the floor loudly are heard. As a result, the mumbling inside the throne room dies down to the point that all Jaquins have fallen silent.

Again, he looks at all three Jaquins in front of him. Veje is the last he looks at, on whom he starts fixating and makes for an austere impression. Veje is not alerted by this. Verago does often so. It doesn't usually mean much up to the use of words that clarify his intentions. Yet, Verago remains quiet to overthink the situation: *I have never lost a Jaquin under my rule. Though some of my predecessors have, I want to be that king who is remembered for having kept all clan members safe. I take every single one of them under my wings. What Veje did was dangerous to himself and others. Yet, it has passed. I cannot change it, only prevent it from happening again.* Veje immediately, and nearly automated being a King's Guard, follows this tapping in quick succession, feeling a sensation of pride coursing through him in a mere second or two. He also can't help but notice Luna mimicking the King's Guards in silence, softly pressing her right paw to the ground twice. This makes him wonder: *She never ceases to be inspired by us guards. I admire her resili…*

However, he's interrupted in his thinking as a loud and happy voice starts filling the throne room. "Everyone! You are here because I have two announcements to make. From today and onward, I am happy to say that Skylar has successfully completed his training in Avalor. He now has become a Guardian of Avalor.' Verago says solemnly followed by cheers from all over the throne room and continues after they've died down, 'Because of this, and since he is the crown prince, he also becomes the personal Guardian to Elena of Avalor… I cannot express more gratitude towards you over aiding the royal family of Avalor, close allies of us. You brought our families together, during which you became a Guardian of Avalor. Skylar, I have respect for your actions of late."

A smile appears on Skylar's face that grows wider with every encouraging word that is directed at him. His tail starts wagging of sheer happiness. Verago notices and raises his head in a graceful manner and smiles heartily at his son. After a nod to his son, he changes to a serious tone of voice: "Speaking of actions… The second announcement I will make today concerns the _hunts_. It must not have escaped your attention that a precious member of the clan was injured during the hunt yesterday. The situation turned dire. Yet, the swift actions and good care by Migs and Sienté prevented this from escalating. For this, I am thankful to both."

Verago looks at Migs and nods amiably, doing the same with Sienté. He turns his gaze at the third member in front of him. "Veje… I see you are without visible injuries. I am glad you feel much better now. Your recovery went well. 'he says heartily yet continues frustratingly, 'However, I cannot ignore that this is the result of reckless behaviour. I deplore that you got yourself caught in that situation, one which certainly could have been prevented. Ah, but do not get me wrong here. I am fond of your proactive attitude, for it shows the kind of behaviour I expect from my guards. Yet, I also condone it. Not only did you put yourself at risk, but also jeopardised the lives of others involved in that hunt. Tell me, what were you thinking of performing a stunt like that?"

Veje opens his mouth to say something but seems to think about what to say. Tudor, who made his way up to them and now sits behind Skylar, makes use of this window of opportunity. "He was not thinking, hehe." he quickly replies and in turn gets his shoulder prodded by Migs to remain silent.

To the surprise of many Migs nods agreeing slightly at Tudor's remark. It's something Migs usually doesn't do since he and Tudor share discordances about matters like these. To him, Tudor is reckless in speech, saying whatever comes to mind without taking into consideration any consequences. *Migs! You agree with me? This is off the charts! You are always so stiff and politically correct, never truly speaking your mind.* Tudor thinks euphorically and winks at him.

He's shaken little when hearing Verago's loud voice once more. "Any single one of you is precious to me. Therefore, I will be more strict on who will join a hunt from this day forth. Well, now that this has cleared the air… Let me be honest with you, Veje. We all were frightened what would happen to you when you performed that trick,' Verago says but remembers a detail told by Skylar when eyeing his son, 'or – feint from what I understood it was. Well, whatever it may have been, this stunt of yours was too close a call. I will not allow anyone in the clan to get severely hurt or worse. Veje, you are not to participate in future hunts until I decide otherwise."

Veje doesn't notice his brother goes to sit next to him. Dióntan pads him on the shoulder and puts a wing around his shoulders. It provides Veje with a comfortable warmth that makes him feel sheltered. "Now, that was… embarrassing – for a royal guard." Veje mumbles.

"I know. King Verago can be harsh. But he is always just. It is his way of dealing with this behaviour of Veje. Still, many of us think you performed well. The hunt was a success after all, and you definitely had your take in it. Tell you what. I know exactly what you need right now…"


	13. Sweet preparations - part 2

_An event is called for that Jaquins frequently look forward to altogether, yet creating some awkward moments for some, including a Jaquin with which Migs shares arguments with from time to time…_

* * *

"King Verago, now that everyone seems present…' Dióntan says and looks around to see the throne room filled up pretty well, 'May I call for a grooming session?"

Those last two words make Luna prick up her ears. Euphoria starts rushing through her body as she starts imagining her feathers being groomed. "I second that!" she exclaims enthusiastically while bearing a broad grin.

Veje looks up at his brother. A spark of joy radiates from his eyes. Those words invigorate him, as it does to Verago. He looks pleased in a way as if expecting such a question. "Excellent idea!" he exclaims of joy.

Every three to four days, Jaquins come together inside the Palace and hold a grooming session. During such a session they form pairs. These couples always consist of male-female composition and in turn, both Jaquins become the groomer and groomee. However, the transition from groomer to groomee usually takes place through an act of passive-aggressiveness, whereby the groomer lies down next to its partner and playfully forces him/her into the role of the groomer. Mutual grooming is performed especially at the skull base, neck, shoulders and around the wing base, areas on the body that Jaquins are unable to groom themselves. These mutual grooming sessions are a social activity always taking place inside the throne room, promoting social interactions between individuals and fortitude one's health and have the groomee experience a feeling of ecstasy when having the wing base groomed.

Verago introduced a new grooming rule during his reign. Each Jaquin needs to pair with someone different over the course of many sessions, upholding social interactions between all members of the Jaquin clan. After all of the possible partnerships have been made over the course of many sessions, this rule is reset and partnerships are formed anew.

Jaquins love getting groomed in between their wings. Every Jaquin knows this. It's why many want the groomer to keep grooming it! Dióntan's particularly keen on finding this exact spot on his partner since he's on the quest for a permanent one. He starts grooming females in between their wing base as quickly as possible. Usually, this is highly appreciated and this way Dióntan hopes to acquire himself a partner.

Verago takes his place at the throne. He turns to face all Jaquins and sits down. He looks around to see who is present. This way, he can observe who's teamed up with whom and uphold his grooming rule. Seeing all is well, he nods. The two main King's Guards simultaneously give a short roar that signals the start of this grooming session.

Skylar and Dulce teamed up for this grooming session. Having the base of his wings groomed, Skylar finds this the perfect moment to "groom" his claws, or polish as he would say himself. He starts biting the claws on his left paw. "Skylar!" he hears his dad shout sternly from across the throne room.

With his eyes wide open, a thought rises in him while somewhat shocked about how his father found out: *Ay! How can he notice while I am sitting away from him?*

"Father… I – am merely inspecting my claws…" he states rather uneasily.

Migs hears this, as well as it is an excuse by Skylar's phrasing, and adds wittily: "Yes, with your teeth."

Skylar pouts and gives Migs an evil eye, and immediately Migs returns a sneer, smiling in faked delight. Skylar then extends the claws on his left paw and happily shows it to Migs saying at a contemptuous tone of voice: "I polish them regularly as you can see. You should take an example from this."

Accompanied by those words he looks delighted at Migs, followed by a glance at his beautiful claws. That delighted look, however, changes to an uneasy one as he notices clear biting marks on one of his claws, quickly retracting them. He snickers uneasily. Migs shakes his head slowly out of disbelieve, yet in a mocking manner.

Tudor, however, hasn't teamed up with Shaniqua. They were a grooming couple before so he's searching for a different grooming partner. He walks about and past Jaquins who already teamed up as grooming partners. He also walks past Luna who hasn't found a partner. Yet, the look she gives him isn't amiable, it's a sour one. *I bet he will not be taking this serious as well.* she thinks of him curtly.

At some point, he stops next to Luna. "I see you also have not found anyone yet. What say you?"

Luna sighs and looks at him blankly. "What about _no_?" she answers curtly and distant.

Tudor displays a sad expression and replies: "Come on… I know you cannot go without a grooming session. I know you like clean feathers too much to miss out on a sess…"

"Everyone knows this!" she hisses mildly.

Tudor seems unmoved by this. "Be my grooming partner, just for this session. Please… There is no more female left but you!" he begs and starts driveling softly.

"Ugh. Okay, Tudor… Listen. Here is how you and I will do this. You are gonna groom me and follow each of my instructions because I want to look splendid after this." Luna says sternly.

He rolls his eyes but Luna doesn't care. She positions herself in front of him and quickly wiggles her body in an attempt to find the most comfortable upright position. She is determined to enjoy this grooming session in the best way possible. She closes her eyes radiating pure excitement. She starts picturing how Tudor will be grooming her and tells herself how much she's going to enjoy the next couple of minutes while hurdling a series of commands, yet to devise, at Tudor. Having all of this set, ready to turn this fabulous plan into reality, Luna opens her eyes again. However, she notices Tudor sitting in front of her now, steadfast. While she had her eyes closed, he quickly glanced at all groomees around him getting groomed already, and so will he! Determined in being the groomee first, he looks behind him and demandingly asks: "Start with the back of my head, will you?"

Luna looks back at him. Her gaze betrays resist. She feels upset with her plan seemingly shattered, yet there is slight satisfaction seeping through. *Alright, alright… This time I will let him have it, but he better be grooming me more than fine when it is my turn!* she thinks cunningly.

Tudor, on the contrary, just sits and waits yet impatiently, which he unknowingly shows through the twitching of his tail-tip. This doesn't go unnoticed. Luna smiles at this sight and commences her grooming. On his request, she starts with the back of his head. The moment he feels the first strokes on his spring green fur he closes his eyes. This is the sweet spot! He slowly succumbs to a tranquil sensation that starts coursing through his body, one that makes his tense muscles loosen and unpleasant sensations soften. He becomes overwhelmed by this ecstatic sensation of tranquility. His twitching tail-tip stops moving, but Luna notices it only when Tudor starts struggling to remain upright. *It is as if he enjoys this greatly… Wait, is he falling asleep on me?* she wonders upset yet keeps grooming.

While Luna's grooming Tudor, Sienté does the same with Veje. She uses soft strokes with her tongue in between his shoulders… *Ah… Exactly the right pressure! It feels so soothing – and tranquil. I definitely need to frame her for more sessions to come!* he thinks naughtily over the fact that this idea goes against Verago's rule.

He focuses solely on her strokes in between his shoulders. Not only do they slowly bring him into a state of ecstasy, but each stroke also brings him closer to falling in love with her… He starts experiencing shivers down his body as he becomes excited by her grooming. She notices and stops. He quickly turns his head to look at her. A seemingly sad expression fills his face. "I saw you shiver. Did – I hurt you? Is there a sore spot still?"

Veje slowly shakes his head, disagreeing with her. "Does it… excite you?" she carefully asks.

He slowly nods while bearing a grand smile upon his face. "It does…" he replies softly and passionately.

Being groomed in between his shoulders is extremely soothing to Veje, and he starts purring. She listens to that sound carefully and smiles heartily at him. His purring noise sounds pleasant to her. Sienté resumes her grooming but now continues with his back.

Verago, having returned to sitting on his throne, watches all the Jaquins before him grooming. This sight pleases him. He takes on an amiable and proud posture with his breast positioned forward and his head held high that bears a broad smile. *Ah, everyone is content. This is good!*

After a while all Jaquins switch positions, making the groomee the groomer and the other way around. Sienté sees everyone switch and turns her gaze towards Veje. "Now, let us switch. Again, you finish up last – as always, hihi." she says teasingly.

Instead of immediately moving around to sit behind her, Veje displays a saddened expression upon his face. Saddened yet playful. This makes Sienté giggle as she finds this rather cute. He smiles at her and moves around her. He positions himself closely behind her, his body against hers. He brings his head close to her ear and whispers softly: "I think I have contracted a disease…"

"Really?" Sienté whispers slowly in return.

"Yes…' Veje continues whispering, 'I have contracted the love disease and start feeling the symptoms now. You are its remedy."

"Ooh, really?" Sienté asks curiously in return and continues lovingly yet soft, 'And how did you contract it?"

"I spend the last few days close to you and have looked at you for too long…" Veje whispers passionately.

"So, now you blame – me for this?" Sienté asks softly with a coy voice.

Veje brings his head even closer to her ear, to the point he almost nuzzles it. "Jaa-wel." he whispers flirtatious into her ear.

"Funny boy, hihi. If you really want to win my heart, you better start grooming me." Sienté says flatly.

Taken aback by this, Veje believes Sienté doesn't share the same feelings. Yet, she winks at him after turning her head to face him directly: "Well, what are you waiting for? I want to feel your tongue, too."

Meanwhile, Luna gets all hotted from the thought that she now finally gets to be groomed! Glancing back at Tudor sternly, she excessively beckons him to commence his grooming. She shuts her eyes to ready herself for the ecstatic feeling she's about to experience. To her surprise, however, Tudor starts grooming her without tricking her or making stupid jokes. *Ah, this is so sweet! Hmm, just what I need.* Luna thinks euphorically.

Out of a sudden, a Jaquin comes flying into the Palace. This one is big that equals Migs and Cruz in size, having a broad physique, comparable with the King's Guards. Yet, this one is female. Her name is Tornado. She's known to act masculine like the King's Guard. Tornado truly is one of a kind. When Dióntan spots Tornado flying over both him and Avira he looks up and follows her movement across the throne room. He had just been finished grooming by Avira, with whom he teamed up with. This is part of his epic quest of finding himself a partner for life. Yet, even now Avira remains silent most of the time due to her shy nature. This results in her usually being the last of finding a grooming partner. This time, however, it was Dióntan who approached her right after calling for a grooming session. She appreciates this. Dióntan, still eyeing Tornado, grins faintly and releases a mere chuckle as he thinks: *Truly everything seems big on her, even her rear end.*

Avira turns her head to look at Dióntan and after a few seconds, she pokes him. He returns to grooming her but cannot get his attention fully back with the grooming. *She could go for a King's Guard with that build of her.* he thinks as he turns his head to look at Tornado once more.

Luna lies on an edge above, from which she can overlook the ground floor, and notices Dióntan keeping an eye on Tornado. *Say something to her, and please make it awkward.* she says to herself.

"King Verago, I have a problem." Tornado says and through this easily draws all attention at her.

"Big Tornado, big problems." Dióntan whispers to Avira.

It makes her giggle. Dióntan likes to joke about Tornado because of her bulky physique, making her look more masculine than the other females. A warm sensation comes over him as he's hearing her giggle. *She likes it! She likes my joke on Tornado! I like her giggling… It sounds sweet.* he thinks cheerfully.

He's so absorbed by this thought he doesn't notice Tornado gazing at him. She asks at a hissing tone: "_What_ did you say?"

Dióntan's look changes from utterly comfortable to distressed rapidly upon hearing those words. He slowly turns his head to see if she's looking at him. She does indeed. However, Tornado doesn't express a comfortable or distressed look, but a completely annoyed one while having her eyes squinted. His eyes, on the other hand, are wide open as he tries to find something to fixate on other than Tornado's. He slowly turns his head back to Avira and makes for an uneasy impression with her by pouting his lips and rolling his eyes. *Oh, yes! I was hoping he would say something uneasy like this. Fun, fun, fun!* Luna thinks with a sense of gloat and giggles.

This thought makes Luna visibly beam while watching this, what she best calls a 'show', unfold before her eyes.

Tornado listened to Verago's words from high up. Normally, she doesn't attend such crowded meetings. However, the words Verago spoke leave her no other option. "King Verago,' Tornado continues looking back at the king, 'I must share with you my take on this. I see no need for these restrictions. I always hunt alone and do fine this way. After all, I am the most excellent hunter of the clan."

Migs audibly clears his throat at Tornado's use of words, clearly disagreeing with her. Tornado shrugs but doesn't look up. She and Migs have had disputes over this subject before.

While Tornado tries to convince Verago on her take of the imposed hunting restrictions, most Jaquins have recuperated from the state of ecstasy they found themselves in by now. They're ready to commit themselves to the final activities for the day before turning in for the night. Among them is Avira. She's decided to go and fulfil her quota for the day. However, she doesn't want to do this alone. A slight worry fills her, accompanied by a worrisome expression on her face. *I dislike the loneliness of collecting food alone. I do not want to do this alone. That is so dull! So who should I approach? Yes! I want to do this with Luna. She is highly determined. But… She is already talking with Shaniqua now. That is a bummer… Now I need to approach someone else. Ugh, but who? Should I interrupt someone for this? Argh, I just need to have more faith in me… I can do this! I should do this… I will ask Skylar!* she tells herself in order to raise both her spirits and her confidence.

Avira starts walking over to Skylar. She approaches him at a slow and cautious pace. Her face shows doubt. "Eh, hey Skylar.' she starts off shy and waits for him to turn his head facing her, 'I – want…"

"Hey, Avira!" Skylar says enthusiastically since she rarely addresses him.

"Avira!" Nico says happy yet curious about what his brother is talking about and joins the two.

"Oh, hehe. Hi Nico. Eh, Skylar. I want to – ask you… I was wonde… will you join me – collecting…" Avira stammers nervously not knowing how to overcome this much of attention from two energetic Jaquins.

Nico interrupts Avira by suddenly yelling of excitement: "Hey, we still have time left to do some training for the speed race again!"

"Yeah! Great idea!' Skylar says exuberantly bearing a grand smile on his face and starts making his way toward the main exit flying, 'See you outside, Avira!"

Avira feels disappointed. She just couldn't bring it up to be confident about herself and ask Skylar to collect food with her. Suddenly, she finds Luna standing in front of her. "I saw you eyeing me. I bet there is something you want from me, so here I am – since I know you will not come to me." Luna says while smirking.

"Hi, Luna…' Avira says startled with widened eyes not expecting her yet musters bravery from a thrilling sensation that she caught Luna's attention and hastily continues, 'I want to invite you and collect food with me!"

"Whoa! Easy there, girl. You startle me, sounding all confident all this sudden.' Luna says fired up and starts smirking, 'Exactly how I like it! Since I have time left, I will go with you. I know some nice spots to gather food."

With a tiny upheaved motion into the air and an outburst of inner happiness, Avira smiles gleefully at Luna and gestures to quickly come with her. Though her eyes radiate happiness over Luna's decision to join her, Avira's face shows doubt instead. Luna squints her eyes, making for a difficult impression as if trying to understand what's going on inside Avira. She cocks her head a little to the right. "What is the matter?" Luna asks curiously for wanting to know what might be bothering the shy Jaquin.

"Well… Uhm, Skylar is waiting for me outside. I – have a… disagreement with him, so I do not want to see him there…"

"Huh? Disagreement… Waiting for you? What for? Wait, did you get into a fight with him or something? Avira, girl, you should stop surprising me all the time!"

"No, no fight!' Avira exclaims and chuckles uneasily, 'He thinks I am going to train with him… for the speed race."

"Ha! Well, then. He will have to wait his turn because you and I have some hunting to do first!"

"Eh… hunting? I…"

"For berries, of course! Tell me you are not thinking that I will get my wings all dirty for an actual hunt so shortly after a grooming session, did you? My feathers have become so neat and polished again. Look at them shine!' Luna says euphorically over the clean plumage on her wings and surprisingly Tudor's rather excellent job at it, 'Oh, but back to the berries… Your pick! Haha, get it? Anyhow, we should not make it late. I want to sleep early. Tomorrow is the big day…"

"Ooh, Solyestra! I almost forgot." Avira says interrupting Luna and chuckles nervously.

"Yep! I have been looking forward to it for such a long time now. I do not want to miss one bit, or bite for that matter!"

Luna takes to flight and goes to hover above Avira, waiting for her to become airborne as well. "Ow!' Luna energetically exclaims taking Avira by surprise, 'While we are on our way you are going to tell me all about your training. You know, the one you receive from Sienté."

"Oh, right!" Avira replies somewhat nervously while the two take their leave from the Palace for the last time today…


	14. Solyestra - part 1

_Everyone wakes up to a shared and exciting idea! Today is the festival everyone's been looking out for. Skylar is tasked to go into Avalor and collect the Jaquins residing there, but something's distracting him…_

* * *

Like the previous morning, this new day is welcomed by the first rays of sunlight that shed light on the Palace and its surroundings. In a tree, one Jaquin lying comfortably in its nest opens its eyes carefully. It's Luna. She wakes up earliest of all. She lies still in her nest as she observes the rays shine through the canopy and into her nest, tickling her face. She starts stretching out completely followed by releasing a soothing groan that acts as closure her waking ritual. Suddenly, Luna gasps as if startled. She gets up and rolls her eyes thoughtfully over a thought of pure euphoria that passes her mind: *Today… is the day. Yes, finally!*

Skylar wakes up now, too… He doesn't observe light, though. He hears a noise instead. He yawns and tries to obtain information through his drowsy eyes to see what's making the noise. Something is speaking to him, that much is clear. Also, it's fast-paced and nearby. Then he identifies a Jaquin standing in front of him. Skylar blinks a few times. He recognises Nico looking at him with enlarged eyes, flinching back and forth of sheer excitement as his mouth is moving non-stop. Nico cannot wait to speak his mind about today. His cluttered speech is one of uncontrollable enthusiasm: "… bro. Wak-up! You-wake yet, bro? Today-s Sol-ystra! Com-on! Finally-e get-o eat-n-play al-day long! Get-p, now! Go outside wit-me!"

In the meantime, Verago also wakes up. He moans a few times as if in pain. In fact, to his sleepy mind, he perceives Nico's words as muffled and this slightly torments him. He wants to wake up gentle and relaxed, but certainly not like this…

Outside the Palace and in a different tree, Veje and Dióntan wake up simultaneously as if spiritually connected. Though they are brothers, this connection comes from a different source entirely. Dióntan lies all curled up with his back against his brother's belly. This behaviour is common in family members and lovers. Veje lifts his head only to find his body being 'trapped' in between the edge of the cupped nest and his brother's back, seeing no way out without disturbing his brother. However, Dióntan also lifts his head and this has Veje look directly at the back of his brother's azure blue head. Both act relaxed. They know today is a special day: one without a quota or King's Guard requiring to stand at attention in the early morning. Yet, this doesn't prevent Veje from feeling trapped still. "Morning, Dió! So, when did you decide to become my girlfriend?" he greets his brother in a witty way and receives but a yawn for a reply…

Migs and Dulce wake up now as well. They do so almost intertwined with one another. This happens nearly every day. They always fall asleep while cuddling and with their twisting and turning, they sometimes wake up in awkward sleeping positions. In one such position, their front legs are entangled as their heads lie face to face, just as their tails can be. Other positions include Mig's head resting on Dulce's chest near one of her armpits with one of her front legs lying over his head, and Migs lying on one of her wings as a result of the cuddling that leaves her no room for turning and ends up rolling half over him.

"Uh…' Dulce starts off surprised from the position she finds herself in this time and confusingly continues once finding Migs' eyes looking back at her, 'Ow, good morning, sweety! I certainly cannot remember falling asleep this way…"

Sienté now also opens her sleepy eyes. Like with Luna, rays of sunlight tickle her face that causes her to wake from her slumber. She lifts her head to look around and notices Avira, who stayed overnight. She lies at the other side of the nest. Seeing its owner waking up, Avira waves at her gently using a stretched wing by making short sideways motions. "I… see you are already awake.' Sienté says calmly and yawns before continuing excitedly, 'I cannot wait what we get to prepare and eat today. How about you?"

Avira replies bashfully: "Me too. I want to eat everything delicious."

"Now you sound just like Tudor, hihi. He always overeats during Solyestra.' Sienté says while noticing a shy grin appearing on Avira's face about the comparison made and starts thinking out loud, 'Speaking of which, I wonder if he and Shaniqua are up already?"

Shaniqua has an agonised look on her face. It reveals she's been woken up instead of waking up by herself. Her drowsy eyes scan the nest to find the source of this snoring. It doesn't take her long to find the culprit. Being vastly asleep still, Tudor lies on his back with all fours stretched in a different direction each, as are his wings. He effectively occupies half of the nest this way. His constant snoring makes Shaniqua feel unable to catch any more sleep. Thus, she raises herself into a sitting position. She looks at her boyfriend in an aloof way with her tail flinching of annoyance. *Argh, even asleep he succeeds in being a pain in the neck! I always need to insist on having him act responsibly. Like yesterday, when he wanted to skip the audience… Hah, but the entry into the throne room. So funny! I surely will never forget this. Ah, I just hope he was put in his place for once…* Shaniqua says to herself with a faint smirk on her face.

She decides to do what comes to her mind quite so often when woken by his loud snoring. She moves over to Tudor and sits down next to him. *And much worse is that I had to persuade him in repairing the nest with me before turning in… Yet, I still love him. Ever since we were so young, I feel attracted to him. If there is one thing to be sure of, it is that this feeling will never wither. And on top of that, he does so well with Kamil. If we ever become parents ourselves he surely will make a good father!*

With a sweet look in her eyes, she looks at her boyfriend. She then presses one paw on his face, effectively disrupting his breathing. The loud snoring dies down yet doesn't disappear entirely. Instead, it now changes to random gasps for air. At that point, Tudor raises himself into a sitting position violently. Now fully awake, he wheezes and exclaims in confusion: "Huh… What – happened?"

"Oh, hey. You are awake. You had a bad dream.' Shaniqua says sarcastically and adds whisperingly, 'Or better said, I was woken up by one…"

Back in the Palace, Skylar steps out of his cave home. He feels perked. Like yesterday, he goes to stand on top of the throne that extends up to the entrance of the cave home. There he stands, gracefully with his back straightened, highly confident like a true heir of king Verago. He looks down onto the main floor of the throne room. It's completely deserted. Today is the only day in the entire year the King's Guards are exempted from duty. Today is special, one that every Jaquin looks out to. A day that's all about celebration and partying: la Fiesta del Sol y las Estrellas, or "Sol-y-estra" in short. It's a thanksgiving festival held in the honour of the sun and the stars, or better said: in the honour of the Sunbirds and the realm of Vallestrella, providing the Jaquins with a safe and prosperous home. Even though the Sunbirds seem to no longer be watchfully present, they are revered nonetheless.

Soon after, Verago also steps out of his home cave and finds Skylar. The big black Jaquin gracefully sits down next to his eldest son. "Ah, here we are much like yesterday morning, do you not agree? Again, I have something to tell you.' Verago says calmly yet with a stern look on his face making Skylar visibly anxious for perhaps another uncalled confrontation that has Verago continue soothingly, 'Hah! But now will be different."

Nico hears his father speak. Also, he hears his big brother's name. The surge of excitement within him has died down by now. The sensation of excitement is slowly being replaced by a feeling of eased curiosity. Wanting to know what his brother and father are sitting together for, he decides to join them. It's been a while since Verago sat down with his two sons alone. "Ah, Skylar. I knew this moment would come. The day you become a Guardian of Avalor. It is a dream of yours come true.' Verago says calmly and places a paw on Skylar's shoulder, 'I have seen your admiration of Luna and Migs, always having looked up to them for being Guardians."

"You knew?" Skylar asks surprisingly and in awe with his shrewd father.

"Of course. As a king, but as a father foremost, I see these kinds of things. Together, you, Luna, and Migs truly make for a remarkable team, and probably more so now that you are a Guardian. You never cease to amaze me, Skylar. I am proud of you – as would Myra."

"Mother…" Nico slowly says of wonder upon hearing that name.

"Yes, Nico. Your mother would be utterly proud – of both of you. It was a dream of hers to see you both become Guardians. That has partially come true."

"So, when do I get to become one? Say I can go tomorrow! Pleeaase! I do not want to fall behind on my big brother." Nico exclaims enthusiastically while looking at Skylar.

Verago smiles of Nico's dedication, to which he says: "In time, Nico. One day, you shall too. Without a doubt."

"You are not my age yet, Nico. You look so cute, almost like a cub grown big!" Skylar jokingly teases his younger brother with his lips curled playfully.

Verago grunts and looks sternly at his eldest son. "Skylar…?" he asks at a correcting tone.

Skylar starts to uneasily look at the ground. Doubt strikes him as he wants something off his chest but hasn't gotten a clue how to bring it up. *How does he keep doing this? It seems dad can look right through me as if he knows something troubles me…* Skylar thinks feeling a little embarrassed.

He looks at Verago again. The sternly yet familiar look on his father's face makes admiration and determination overwhelm him. "Father… I want to apologise for what happened yesterday, frankly at this exact spot. I should not have yelled at you."

"Indeed, you should not have. There was no need for that." Verago reprimands his son and remains looking at his eldest son sternly.

"Sorry…" Skylar says softly with slight remorse as he bows his head.

Verago smiles in response and rubs his head against Skylar's firmly but in a loving way. It makes Skylar look up again. "Yet, I know how difficult it can be to keep up with life events unravelling before you this quickly. It seems hard to keep up. I cannot blame you for that, and I will not. You and Nico have always been… resourceful, something you clearly showed today once more, just as the two of you did when – Hrm, rebuilding my nest upside down…' Verago says the last part cautiously yet cannot prevent Skylar and Nico from chortling and this has him grunt displeasingly, 'Stop it. There is more I want to say. You and the same goes for you as well Nico, are the greatest joy in my life. Seeing the two of you growing up is what makes me utterly happy inside, even though it may not always shine through. Know that I will always be proud of both of you."

Ending his talk in a benevolent way, all three Jaquins smile at one another. They feel this talk did well for them. Skylar feels perked still, but this feeling now originates from the idea that his father is always proud of him, even when he corrects Skylar sternly or acts surly. "Now. There is one thing I would like to ask of you, Skylar.' Verago says reaching out a paw of his as if presenting his eldest son with a proposition, 'I want you to go into Avalor once more. This time, however, I want you to collect Zephyr and all of the Guardians, Scouts, and serfs from Mooncliff, and take them back here to join me. Then we can start the festival."

"Alright!' Skylar exclaims of joy and lifts up into the air to hover next to his father, 'I will go right away. I cannot wait for the festival to start!"

With his head held high, Skylar, and Nico besides him, flies towards the grand hallway, destined to go into Avalor once more. This time, he's content with it. He nods at Nico, who replies with full determination: "I am gonna see if everyone is awake yet! No one should sleep in on a day like this!"

Meanwhile, Tudor sits in his nest. He acts restless, inspecting the nest frantically by quickly having his eyes go about it. Next to him sits Shaniqua. She watches him closely as, in her eyes, he acts completely irrational, while shaking her head slowly. Then Tudor gets up. He starts pacing back and forth quickly still looking around, sweeping his tail, wings, and occasionally a paw of his over the nest flooring. "Would you stop doing that? It makes me feel nervous." Shaniqua replies feeling annoyed.

"My parents will be here today." Tudor replies hastily.

"So?" she asks curtly.

Tudor stops and looks at her saying at a fast pace: "Well, last time they saw this nest it was clean! They left me here and went into Avalor, helping the royal family over there against… bad things. While I stayed here, I fended for myself like an adult does. My parents must have gotten high expectations of me during that time. I must make sure not to let them down."

"Ah, you want to impress your parents.' Shaniqua says calmly but changes to a commanding tone of voice and using a wing to hold him in place, 'Well, then start by impressing me and stop! Just stop! Listen to me now. All this extensive cleaning serves no purpose. It just annoys me. Instead, start doing something useful."

"You are right…' he says hesitantly of not knowing what to do but then realises exactly what needs to be done and brightens up, 'You are right! I should get my parents! Inviting them personally makes me look responsible…"

"That is – not what I meant… Besides, you need to ask permission – from the king, that is." Shaniqua replies wittily and grins at him knowing that only king Verago appoints someone to collect the Jaquins from Avalor.

At that point, Skylar passes over their nest on the way to the portal. "Skylar!' the yellow and blue furred prince hears his name being yelled and glances down to see Tudor approaching while looking at him, 'I need to ask something of you."

"No! You do not!" They can hear Shaniqua yell flatly at them.

Skylar keeps on flying and replies: "Later, Tudor. I am on my way to Avalor."

Tudor accelerates. Being one of the better, if not the best, aerial acrobats, he quickly catches up with Skylar. "Yeah, about that. Can I join you? My parents are there… And Kamil, too!" he says in a pleading manner.

"Sorry. Father asked me to do this. Only he can grant you permission."

"Aw, but you are the prince, first in line to become king! Your decisions must count, too."

"Sure, but Verago is king…"

Tudor quickly interrupts Skylar, hoping to persuade him still: "If I had to decide I would have you make calls, too. You know everyone around here, and… Oh, and everyone likes you! So, you are a good deci-der of things. Please, let me go with you! Besides, we are almost at the portal anyway."

Skylar sighs. *I should not let him go with me, I guess. But Tudor is right about everyone liking me, and I can indeed make my own decisions. Ooh, like I did yesterday! That went well. I became a Guardian because of it!* Skylar tells himself to weigh up his options.

"Okay, you can come with me.' he replies confidently yet adds to it sternly, 'But no jesting, or joking!"


	15. Solyestra - part 2

_Skylar and Tudor collect Zephyr, Cruz, and the other Jaquins and take them into Vallestrella. However, not everyone's pleased and this results in some feathers getting ruffled._

* * *

Once through the portal, Skylar and Tudor fly toward Mooncliff. "The race will be soon, and I am going to win it! Let me prove it to you. Race you there!" Skylar yells excitedly.

He increases his speed and leaves Tudor closely behind him. "Sure! But I will be there first!" Tudor replies with the same excitement.

Speeding to Mooncliff, both young Jaquins land in the clearing at the same time. Wheezing a little from the sprint, they realise a flock of Jaquins in there with them as well. Skylar looks around and notices that all kinds of friendly-looking eyes are on him and Tudor. He finds this thrilling as he knows pretty much all of them, which clearly shows through his wide-open smile and his tail wagging sideways. Everyone has a liking of him, for he has a fun and accessible personality. He looks among the flock of Jaquins and finds Cruz. He approaches him. "Cruz! Amigo!' Skylar happily greets the big purple Jaquin yet carefully continues, 'So, today I heard what happened because of my early graduation as Guardian of Avalor. You must know, I really have been looking forward to being trained by you, amigo!"

Cruz feels contempt toward Skylar. Contempt as such that he cannot increase his influence over him anymore, and thus over the clan as a whole. His vaulting ambition now seems to crumble. Yet, he feels even more contempt for Zephyr, who had this opportunity stolen from him. Cruz squints his eyes briefly out of a surge of vengeance that he bores for the old Jaquin, no longer being able to further his agenda to become even more powerful. He craves a more prominent position, in which being a Navegera is simply not enough… "Ah, no worries." he says calmly and smiles condescendingly at Skylar with his head held high.

"Great! Hey, I came to collect you and chief Zephyr. Today is Solyestra!' Skylar says out of sheer ecstasy over the festival being held in Vallestrella today and starts wondering, 'Speaking of which. Where is the chief?"

Skylar looks around more carefully now. He misses Zephyr. Yet, he hadn't been looking all too well. The old Jaquin is sitting on the elevated part in front of the clearing, overseeing everyone as he does so often. Skylar finds Zephyr and his eyes looking back at him. Both he and Tudor notice standing in between the chief and the other Avalor Jaquins. Skylar feels uneasy with the stern look in Zephyr's eyes and focuses on the flock again, and notices a male Jaquin he'd seen a couple of times yesterday. At the same time, that particular Jaquin notices Skylar in return and nods at him, making Skylar smile at him cheerfully. He then hears a throat-clearing sound and realises it belonging to Zephyr. Quickly, he and Tudor move up the elevated part and go stand beside him. Zephyr looks around and slowly nods when noticing everyone's present, sitting at attention wing by wing. "Tudor,' Zephyr states firmly yet frowns of surprise, 'you are known to ruffle some feathers every now and then… However, that aside, I had not expected you here."

"Neither have we." the male Jaquin adds cautiously.

Tudor recognises this Jaquin immediately, as he does with the female Scout next to him. They are his parents. They smile at him amiably, his mother also winks. "Well, Skylar. I just finished my speech to everyone here. We are ready to go into Vallestrella. King Verago send you to collect us, I assume?' Zephyr says calmly yet frowns with his following question, 'And, he agreed on Tudor coming with you?"

Skylar flinches as he's caught by surprise. "Eh… Yeah, he – did." he stammers slightly of insecurity.

He knows all too well that this is a lie. The words sprang into his mind so suddenly and before he realised it, they also exited his mouth due to this sudden and, above all, unexpected question. On the other hand, this answer suites Skylar in such a way that he feels he doesn't need to explain himself for Tudor's presence. He looks at the chief and notices both the stern and frowned look he receives from Zephyr in return. Skylar feels uneasy as the old Jaquin's eyes seem to peer right through his façade. In the meantime, Tudor recalls on Zephyr telling everyone about past celebrations of Solyestra and how he's looking forward to this year's festivities. This year was no different, he assumes without a doubt. "You repeat this speech every year, right?" Tudor says slightly agitated.

Zephyr nods in an agreeing way. He sees Tudor's tail flicking. He replies wittily and with a grin: "Whenever I need to if someone has not been paying attention…"

"Nah, you probably forgot you ever told that story. You are getting old, chief! And if you ask me, also too grey: _demasiado gris_…"

Zephyr shakes his head displeasingly and rolls his eyes. Yet, he decides not to reply, knowing that this would only fuel Tudor and lead to escalation. Silence is the best cure in a situation like this. However, he's not the only one noticing the tension that's developing within Tudor. In order to prevent further awkward conversation, the male Jaquin intervenes by saying: "Ah, Skylar. I heard exciting news of you having become a Guardian. Congratulations! And not only that, but you graduated on your first day of train…"

Zephyr clears his throat to interrupt him, who in turn remains silent out of respect for his chief. "That he did, indeed. Something that is unprecedented; never done before. That is impressive, to say the least. That deserves you a double congratulations, Skylar."

"Aw, thanks! Both of you!" Skylar replies excitedly and nods at both with a wide-open smile.

Skylar looks exuberantly happy. His tail is wagging once more and he has his head held high of sheer pride. "You must be proud, I can tell. As are we all.' Zephyr continues calmly as he sits gracefully in front of his cave home and smiles at Skylar, 'Even though you became one later than I had anticipated."

"Well, you know. He is a slow learner, hehe." Tudor jokes and smirks at his father playfully.

Tudor's father, however, doesn't look pleased with that remark and remains silent, effectively ignoring his son. Cruz bears this same smirk as Tudor. However, he does so out of disdain toward Skylar. He's holding a grudge, one that he'll one day want to replace with revenge…

Back in Vallestrella, Luna flies around the Palace perimeter. She sees all kinds of ongoing activities down below. She relishes this sight, looking at everything being prepared for the festival to start soon. She looks at a nearby open field that's transformed into a funfair on this particular day, with equipment being erected for the cubs to play with. This funfair is held in honour of the Sunbirds, as they're the Guardians of the Realm. Their affiliation with protecting Jaquins from evil and hardships had earned them this annual festival for a long time now. The adults know cubs are usually too energised and distracted by all the happenings at the festival to experience the true meaning of this holiday: to honour the Sunbirds, to learn about them, and to respect them. So, they want the cubs to enjoy themselves and at the same time develop the desired interest in the Sunbirds.

Luna also sees food being prepared. From the chopping and squashing of food items with claws and paws, to the baking of those items on scorching hot flat-surfaced stones that act as stoves. She inhales deeply to savour all the scents that reach her from down below. She starts licking her lips at a relishing thought: *I certainly hope some patatas recubiertos will be made, otherwise I will make my own. It is my absolute favourite! Hmm-hm.*

She's disturbed from this thought, however, when she spots Zephyr and Cruz heading for the Palace. *Apparently, Skylar has gotten back with Zephyr and the other Jaquins from Avalor already. It surprises me that he had done this so quickly. I truly thought he would get distracted by… well, anything, and delay their arrival…* she thinks.

Luna feels her thought being replaced by an immediate urge to talk to Cruz. Entering the Palace behind the two, Luna catches up with Cruz. He says lovingly: "Cruz! I missed you yesterday."

"What for?' Cruz asks caught by surprise but recovers and continues flirtatiously, 'Ah, I know. It must be because of my charms, eh?"

Luna feels her cheeks start burning. This coy expression of hers toward Cruz mustn't go unnoticed, she feels. She chuckles and while blushing little, she replies: "And your tongue. We had a grooming session yesterday in the afternoon. I was hoping you would show up."

"Really? Oh, I mean… sure. If someone told me I would have certainly joined… You seem like a fine groomer, and I like how you care about my looks and all.' he says in a flamboyant manner yet changes his tone to an annoyed one, 'Ugh, but now we have to wait until next session, or whenever that will be… Just make sure to come and collect me by then."

"Sure thing! But – what about your duties as Navegera? After all, you reside in Avalor all this time."

"Pfft, never mind that. It can wait.' Cruz says flatly to his responsibilities and then notices something that grabs his full attention, 'Ah, but this cannot wait… Hold that thought, preciosa! I have something else to do first."

Luna sees Cruz walk off toward a small flock of Jaquins that just entered the Palace. "Bye, Cruz." she calls after him lovingly with her cheeks blushing still.

As his paws continue down the grand hallway, they now gently touch the Palace's floor as he walks up to Zephyr unobtrusively, seemingly prowling on the chief from behind him. Finding himself in a vindictive state of mind about what happened earlier, something he blames Zephyr for, the large purple Jaquin approaches him and starts hunkering. When he's in paw's reach with the grey old Jaquin he goes to stand beside him. "Chief!" he says with an aloof tone of voice.

Zephyr swings his head around. Observing what he sees he startles and turns around his body also. The Jaquin in front of him shows an ambivalent combination of both anger and calm. Zephyr's eyes radiate slight terror yet his posture remains unaffected, displaying a stance at ease. "Cruz. I thought you fell behind. We must see king Verago before the feast starts.' Zephyr says sternly but when noticing the way Cruz's looking at him he clears his throat in order to think of something else to say that'll ease Cruz, 'How are you – all of your trainees doing?"

"Hey!' Cruz yells and steps forward towards his supervisor, 'You took away my chance to train the prince, the most important trainee I will now never get to train! Now I have only two left and they cannot – cope well or get along with me nicely…"

Zephyr groans out of frustration over Cruz's excuses for not being a good Navegera.

Not far away from them, a female Jaquin looks at them. With such raised voices, it's not hard to ignore and overhear the conversation turning toxic. She starts walking over to them. Such tones of voice call for an intervention…


	16. Solyestra - part 3

_The preparations for Solyestra are underway, and they're coming along well. Aside from a few personal struggles, that is._

* * *

"What is with these raised voices? It annoys me!" the female states in a commanding way.

"My business is with Zephyr!" Cruz addresses her agitatedly with a loud voice still.

"And _my_ business is with anyone causing any disturbance inside the Palace, something you are doing right now! Quit it, or leave." she bellows at Cruz while having a wing pointed at the Palace's entrance.

At this point, Tudor walks on by. He's on his way to the storage rooms, keen on wanting to know what food items are available to feast on soon and relish on all of them. He looks up at the bossy attitude of the female from behind her, curiously to hear what Cruz and the old Jaquin have done to anger her. An immediate urge creeps up in him, wanting to mock Cruz and drive him into the tight corner he's in now even further. However, a thought entering his mind prevents him from doing so this time: *Uh, nope… I rather _not_ have Tornado do the same with me.*

He knows that he can only expect heavy retaliation for any remark he makes that she deems improper. He decides to continue on walking. Lavishing on all of the food was something he wanted to do yesterday, but got prevented when Shaniqua dragged him into the throne room, instead.

Tornado, on her turn, makes a gesture with her head. Two members of the King's Guard, one of them being Veje, walk over and go stand beside her, one on each side, looking at Cruz with a stern look on their faces.

"Let me be the wiser Jaquin of the two…' Zephyr says with clear irritation to his voice as he looks at Cruz and turns around facing the Palace's entrance, 'My business here will come at a later time."

The grey old Jaquin spreads his wings and flies off. Arriving outside, he's greeted by the same tasty scents Luna was. This comforts him and makes him feel more at ease, and allows him to start pondering over the course he set out for Cruz… In the meantime, Zephyr's absence in the Palace is replaced by king Verago, who approaches Cruz. He, too, heard the commotion and came to see what this is all about. "Say, Cruz. I heard your voice. It sounded rather irate. Such tone is not voiced within my Palace. You would do wisely not to let me remind you of this… Tornado, it was a bold move raising your voice as well. I do not condone it from anyone."

Tornado looks agitated, clearly displeased with Verago shushing the situation. Yet, she dares not talk back to him. She knows his decision is final and leaves it at this. "I understand." is all Tornado replies with and in an unmoved way.

"Good. Both of you should know better than arguing with one another. Today is all about celebration and honouring the Sunbirds. Now, head out both of you. The feast is soon to start and preparations are still underway."

"Hmpf… Agreed.' Cruz says indignantly while nodding and prepares to get airborne, 'I am done here anyway."

Just like Zephyr, Skylar's undergoing the same event. He, too, has all kinds of embellishing scents reaching his nose. He takes in all the intricate smells and relishes over them. Deciding to follow one such smell, he ends up with Migs who seems busy baking using a flat-surface stone for a stove. He looks gleeful. Skylar notices a few severed sugar canes lying next to Migs, as well as two sliced onions. Migs looks up at the one approaching him and bears a genuine smile. Excitedly, he says: "Finally, you are back. Now, look at this! I was able to extract the juice from these sugar canes. Now if you will get me some ceramic bowls from the Palace, then we can make black treacle. I know you like that!"

"Ooh, and we need that for…' Skylar exclaims excitedly only to realise he hasn't a single clue and adds cautiously, 'For what, actually?"

"Well, to make empanada stole, of course!" Migs replies in a delighted manner.

"Right! Hmm, that is sooo delicious!" Skylar says and starts licking his lips.

"It is, indeed. Making the food is the pinnacle of preparations. The dough needs some time to rise but that gives me plenty of it to get this right. Now, off you go!" Migs exclaims perkily.

Skylar prepares to take to the skies and says: "I will get some bowls right away!"

Quickly, Migs prevents this by blocking Skylar with one of his wings, saying: "Mind you, though. Those bowls are old. I mean, really old! We got them from the humans before your father banned them. We cannot make them ourselves. Once broken, a bowl can no longer be replaced. So be careful!"

Skylar nods deeply as he looks Migs in his eyes with determination. "Got it!" he replies at a serious tone of voice and gets airborne.

Not far from them, Nico's busy readying himself for some baking as well. He has fine baking skills. That is, according to his own judgment. He rather wants to help in preparing food than to participate in the funfair games. He thinks of himself more of a juvenile, even though he's still a youngster and his big brother sometimes teases him for having a baby face still. Therefore, he feels baking is more appropriate for him to do. Having gone past many other Jaquins this morning, Nico has learnt that only a few plan on preparing masa tortillas. So he decided to make these as well. Having gathered all the necessary ingredients from the storage rooms, he puts some piece of meat onto the already hot surface of a flat stone, one that enjoys not a single shade against the sun's unforgiving rays. As Nico has the meat gently touch the rock a sharp sizzling sound starts filling the air around him. He deems it fine for now. He has been keeping an eye on his big brother lately. Nico wants to outperform him. Not only during Solyestra but also in the speed race. Soon after, he spots Skylar hovering over the funfair field together with Shaniqua and Dulce. Both females have been helping set-up the funfair. Nico decides to join them in conversation. Apparently, Skylar has taken some bowls with him from the Palace, and the females wanted to find out why. Skylar proudly tells them he's helping Migs prepare the empanada stole. He then realises Migs must be waiting for him and he quickly takes his leave. Nico takes over the conversation and tells Shaniqua and Dulce what he's preparing. Before either of them can respond to it, all three hear a shriek: "Eee-eew!"

All look up to where it originates from. "I know that voice!" Dulce says worriedly.

They quickly make their way toward the source of the shriek. Standing next to a flat-surface stone, Avira looks at the burnt meat on that rock with disgust, watching the meat sizzle as dark smoke rises from it that bears a foul smell. The sight, and scent, upon the now distasteful food, has Avira startled but disgusted more so. Nico hadn't realised the scorching heat of the flat-surface stone would've turned the meat black so quickly…

In the meantime, Skylar arrives back at the flat rock Migs is utilising for his empanada stole. Skylar puts down the bowls gently, knowing Migs' watching his every move. He doesn't want to stick around, though, because he's dedicated to leaving for the feast early. He wants to stand next to his father, who'll commence Solyestra with a powerful roar at noon. *I really want to be there when it starts!* he motivates himself in thought.

Skylar clearly has a difficult impression on his face, thinking of a proposition to make toward Migs to avoid a boring conversation. "Can I leave early, Migs? I do not want to miss the start of the feast. Especially with my father kicking it off, you know." Skylar asks at an almost sad tone of voice.

Migs replies with a steady voice: "I know. I would like to attend it on time too, bu…"

"Okay, settled then!" Skylar immediately replies full of enthusiasm.

Of course, he knows Migs wasn't finished speaking and certainly didn't mean it the way Skylar interpreted it. Migs definitely wants to prevent Skylar from leaving. Still, the way Migs started gave Skylar the perfect lead, even if it were but to tease him. "No!' Migs exclaims and sighs, 'That is not how I meant it and you know it. Come on, the sooner we finish this stole the sooner we can attend the start of Solyestra."

"Boring…" Skylar mumbles as he rolls his eyes.

Conveniently for Skylar, that rolling of his eyes has him spot Zephyr flying past, heading toward the funfair. "Ah, but you can handle this by yourself, right? I mean, you probably do not want me to break any of these bowls… Right? So, I will leave you to your baking.' Skylar says confidently and readies himself to take to flight, 'Ow! And if you will, do not be too frugal with the black treacle, will you?"

Migs follows up on Skylar with his eyes, and mumbles while shaking his head: "Seriously, Skylar… Your behaviour is as reckless as your taste for sweets. One day, your teeth will fall straight out of your mouth."

Up in the sky, Skylar keeps his eyes on Zephyr. He really wants a word with the eldest of Jaquins. He quickly gains on him and shouts: "Chief!"

Zephyr seems in thought and startles from the loud voice coming from behind. "Huh? Oh, Skylar. How are the preparations coming along? I see, and predominantly smell, a lot of fine odours…"

"I think… They are doing well. I think we are almost finished."

"Good.' Zephyr says calmly and groans before continuing, 'I see something is on your mind. What troubles you, Skylar?"

"Say, chief. I was thinking about my training. You know, to become a Guardian… How come I was sent to training so late? I mean, are trainees not supposed to be younger?"

"I understand your confusion, Skylar. You must know that king Verago and qu…' Zephyr says droningly yet suddenly holds his tongue as he realises he shouldn't bring up Skylar's mother so he continues calmly again, 'He wanted to see you become a Guardian sooner. At that time, however, we lived in – exceptional circumstances in which we were given no choice but to wait. The fight against Shuriki had us all occupied for nearly 40 years, as you well know. All Jaquins able to join that ongoing battle had to participate. That included experienced Guardians, such as Cruz, myself. Even you had to participate. Times were grim, let alone, dire. Thus, you can imagine training you was not our priority, even though it pained both king Verago and me that we had to wait this long. Even so, the result is the same. You are a true Guardian, and that is what counts. Let no one tell you otherwise, Skylar…"

"Thanks, chief." Skylar says amiably.

"Well, I am here. I will inspect the funfair and see if it is ready."

"I will go and see father. He will want to commence the festival soon!"

"Hurry up, then. It is almost noon. And… Try to avoid Tornado for now. She just had an altercation with Cruz and is momentarily bad-tempered, to say the least."

"Huh, what did she do?" Skylar mumbles but turns around and heads for the Palace to see his father.


	17. Solyestra - part 4

_Everyone's getting ready for the festival to commence. Not everything, however, starts out smoothly from the start._

* * *

Tudor comes out of the storage room flying. He holds his paws close to his body so they form sort of a basket, in which he holds different food items. As he flies through the grand hall of the Palace, he passes Tornado once again on his way out. He now also notices Veje. Apparently, the two are in conversation. He approaches Veje and goes to hover beside him, making his presence more than clear. Tornado grunts a little of displeasure but Tudor ignores this. Instead, he asks: "Veje! Say, do you want to attend the Solyestra party?"

Those words sound magical to Veje. Parties are always nice to attend but Solyestra is always so much more fun! The idea of going there excites him and makes his body shiver mildly as he energetically replies: "Me going to the party? Jaa-wel!"

Luna, who still remains inside the grand hall as well, happened to overhear Tudor say those words to Veje. She walks over to them. As she does, Tornado addresses Veje firmly: "Focus! We were not done talking."

"That is my favourite party!' Luna says perkily and glances at both Tudor and Veje only to direct her attention to Tornado, 'Say, does any of you know who is preparing _patatas recubiertos_?"

"You can never do without them, do you?" Veje asks heartily.

"Yep! Call it an addiction if you will." Luna responds with a smile.

"That is what I was going to say on your behalf, hehe." Tudor says and chortles.

Again, Tornado grunts a little. This time it's out of annoyance as she's unable to retain Veje's attention as he once again gets distracted. "Okay, now be silent! I was talking with Veje until you two turned up." she says with a bitter tone to her voice.

"About what?" Luna asks curiously.

"The Royal Guard not standing to attention this morning, something we are relie…" Veje says.

Tornado interrupts Veje and replies at a hardened tone: "Something that _should_ be done each and every day."

"Really?" Luna asks curiously still.

"Not today." Veje answers in a relaxed manner before Tornado can.

"Even on a day like today.' Tornado says indignantly and eyes Veje, 'The guards should be kept an eye on to make sure they keep watch over king Verago at all times."

Veje shrugs and replies in the same relaxed manner still: "No need, Tornado. We know our duties, from which we are exempted today, the only day in the year that we get a day off."

"I second that because the king decided so himself." Luna adds in Veje's defence.

"Hmpf, if it were for me the Royal Guard would be training each day. We have an important task to fulfil and I take pride out of it to serve king Verago. Besides, he is too busy today to make us stand to attention at all. A good captain could relieve him." Tornado says sternly as if her mouth speaks the only truth.

"I can do that." Veje says while eyeing Tornado.

"You?' Luna asks out of pure disbelieve and frowns before continuing in a serious tone, 'Do not take this personal, Veje, but you are too laid-back for such a role. A captain would need a pro-active attitude."

Tornado nods in agreement with Luna and utters a satisfied 'Mm-hmm'. Tudor nods, too. He looks at Tornado and reverts his eyes back at Veje: "And you are tardy for most trysts, or so says Shaniqua."

"Could be, but I am never late attending Royal Guard duties." Veje states confidently.

Luna shrugs at that remark, knowing that this surely is true. Now that she feels everyone has had their say over the Royal Guards she directs her attention to Tornado and says: "Tornado, were you not a bit harsh with Cruz? I still had things to discuss with him, you know. Now that he has left the Palace I need to go looking for him."

"Hmpf, if he had behaved in here I would not have had intervened. He may be the Navegera, but he is just a rookie if it comes to discipline."

"Hey, there you guys are!" Skylar yells exuberantly while he comes flying into the Palace.

At the same time, Verago flies toward the entrance. He comes flying past the group Skylar just joined. Everyone looks at their graceful king, flying through the grand hallway at a fast pace. Verago looks back at them. He eyes Skylar and says: "Come, Skylar. You go ahead toward the field and join Zephyr and Nico. The festival is about to start."

"Already?' Skylar replies in confusion yet continues gleefully, 'Wow, time truly flies when I fly!"

He turns around and quickly flies off toward the exit of the Palace before anyone else in that group has the opportunity to respond. Yet, Tudor and Luna are quick to go into pursuit.

Skylar flies toward an open savannah woodland close to the Palace. He lands next to his little brother, who's happy to see him. Skylar overlooks his surroundings well. To his right, he sees some rocks on which different foods and dishes are displayed. To his left, he sees the funfair with something that looks like a high striker device and some colourful moulding boards laying around it, together with some figures shaped in the matching holes in the boards. In the middle of both, Skylar looks out over the open field he and Verago are in. It's filled with all of the Jaquins, both domestic and those residing in Avalor. All are ready to get the party started. Their excited eyes watch the king graciously fly over the open woodland before touching down next to Zephyr, Skylar, and Nico. Some mumbling is heard after Verago has landed, audibly increasing of excitement as the festival is soon to start. The sun practically is at its zenith, meaning it's almost time to commence Solyestra. Verago turns to face everyone. He can tell everybody is utterly excited. He can see it in their longing eyes as well as on their faces, anxiously awaiting in excitement. A big grin appears on his face. *This is the big moment everyone is waiting for. Time to get it started!* he thinks as he lets his eyes go through the crowd of Jaquins.

All of the present Jaquins let their mumbling die down as excitement's building up inside of them, awaiting their king to start speaking. Suddenly they watch Verago spread his wings. He stands there in front of all, graciously, almost intimidating even. Immediately, all Jaquins present become quiet and look at their king in awe. During this moment of silence, king Verago speaks the words everyone has been waiting for: "Let the festival begin!"

After having said these exhilarating words, Verago releases a powerful roar. This mighty roar carries all across the open woodland. With this loud sound the king of the Jaquins initiates "la Fiesta del Sol y las Estrellas", the feast each Jaquin has been looking out for. All are visibly excited that this moment has finally come. On this day, no one should worry, everyone is to party and should be occupied with enjoying themselves. Skylar, standing beside his father still, looks at him in awe. *That roar was so majestic! I hope that one day I get to roar just like father.* he thinks with great respect for his father.

Soon after Verago's roar, all Jaquins go into different directions and flock together to gather food, start dancing in the open woodland or participate at the funfair. The open savannah woodland in between the feeding area and the funfair starts filling up with some Jaquins. Among them are Migs and Dulce. They begin loosening up their wings and body and get ready to dance, much like other couples do. Veje takes Sienté's paw and takes her further into the open woodland. At an excited tone, he says: "Come on!"

They start dancing. Starting on their hind legs at first, Veje and Sienté are soon swinging through the air, gently circling each other as they dance low above the ground. Veje laughs euphorically and has his head held low as he looks at his dancing partner heartily. Sienté looks back at him, smiling ear to ear as she giggles joyously.

Over at the feeding area, Zephyr looks at all the different food items and dishes that were prepared for today. He sees a few 'empanada stoles', a dozen 'masa tortillas', some 'patatas recubiertos', and a pawful of kush-kush yam even. Here and there, he also notices different ingredients that have been prepared for dessert. With this kind of abundance in variety, it no doubt becomes hard to choose which dish to start with. Skylar goes to stand next to him. He looks at the chief and then follows his gaze toward the food items. "Hard time picking something, chief? Let me help!' Skylar says enthusiastically and starts picking items at random which he hands over to Zephyr, 'Here, take this, then this, and maybe some of these. Ooh, patatas recubiertos! Always have some of those. You know how Luna craves these! I think she likes them only for the anoki berry juice they are draped in… Here, chief!"

By now, Zephyr has his paws cupped to hold all the food items Skylar just gave him. With a somewhat uneasy look on his face he says: "Uh, that should do it for now, Skylar. Thank you. I think this might even be too much for an old Jaquin like myself."

"No worries, chief! I can help with that. Or – you give the excess food to Tudor! He always overeats during Solyestra." Skylar exclaims joyously.

"That he does, unfortunately." Zephyr replies doubtfully.

He groans uncomfortably, both out of Tudor's bad habits that he's reminded of as well as all the food he's to carry with him now. As the old Jaquin prepares to take his leave, he hears someone land right next to him. "Ow! You guys beat me to it! And look at you go, chief! Still having quite some appetite, I see. What are you going to use all this energy for?"

"Hey, Tudor! We were just talking about you. I guess the chief is going to dance on all that extra energy. Right, chief?" Skylar replies excitedly.

Zephyr blinks out of confusion once and gives Skylar a questioning look, after which he says: "Well, I think I will sk…"

Tudor, however, interrupts him by adding: "You sure? Do you think his bones can handle that still? I mean, he has become quite grey… Perhaps too _grey_? Hehe."

"_Demasiado gris_!" Skylar exuberantly exclaims.

Immediately, he hears his name shouted by a very familiar voice, one that he rather not hear speak his name this way. Skylar gulps. His father approaches him from above and lands next to him. "I am sorry, chief Zephyr. You know Skylar can be gleeful at times. Yet, at moments such as these, he tends to forget it might be wise to keep certain thoughts to himself."

"To be honest, king Verago, I have grown accustomed to this. Fortunately for him, Skylar was not the one starting this.' Zephyr adds and uses his head to beckon Verago's attention to be directed at Tudor, 'For now, I have said enough. I will take my leave. Enjoy the food, all of you! It is certainly what I will be doing…"

In the meantime, Skylar is gathering some food of his own. While doing so, he looks at Tudor: "Say, Tudor. Where did you leave Kamil? He is usually with you."

"True. I left him at the funfair with a moulding board. He is to figure it out. It will take him some time, and by then I will be done stuffing myself with all this fine food…"

Verago nods with a smile before he says: "Ah, I am glad Kamil is enjoying himself with that board. I hope it allows him to grow acquainted with ingenuity, a trait the Sunbirds needed in protecting us."

"He is learning, indeed. The rascal is utterly curious about the funfair! Well, I have collected enough – for now, hehe. I am going to relish over all these tastes! See you around."

Verago watches Tudor take his leave. He then directs his attention to Skylar. He starts smiling amiably and asks calmly: "Now, how about us? You already picked some food, I see. What are you starting with?"

"Uhm. I will start with some _rocotos relenos_. I like them being stuffed. It provides that indulging bite I like so much! Have you decided yet, father?"

"Ah, excellent idea! I will have some as well – and perhaps some masa tortillas as well. They are always delicious."

After collecting the desired food items, Skylar and Verago decide to find a less crowded area to eat in the peace and quiet they wish for. As they make their way there, Dióntan moves in sneakily and approaching the food spot. He glances around quickly and notices no one's watching him. He then chuckles and places a trapping bean in between some of the dishes. However, he doesn't notice Luna approaching him from behind. She notices his suspicious behaviour and becomes wary. "What you doing there?" she asks hastily and at a serious tone of voice.

Dióntan startles. He looks up and starts stammering: "Me… Ehm, nothing – in particular. I am, eh…"

"I saw you placed something there. Let me see…' Luna says and displaces him to get a better view, 'Is that a – trapping bean? You placed this here, right? If I see someone get caught in it, I will personally hold you responsible!"

"Hey, easy now! You sound almost like Tornado…" Dióntan responds agitatedly.

"I do not sound aloof like her!' Luna replies with a sneer but hearing herself shout curtly has her start doubting her own statement, 'Do I?"

Dióntan looks at her and tries to ease the conversation somewhat. "Do you not find this funny?" he says and points a wing at the trapping bean.

"No! You should start acting more like your brother!"

"You mean being laid-back and slow? Haha, sorry. Just kidding."

"Still not funny.' Luna says in a huffy way with her eyes squinted and directs her attention at the food, 'Now, let me pick my food. I need at least three patatas recubiertos to calm down my nerves."


	18. Solyestra - part 5

_Everyone's enjoying themselves. After all, Solyestra is an event of good vibes and celebration. Occasionally, though, things happen that'll leave marks in the form of repercussions, either sooner or later…_

* * *

Shaniqua's over at the funfair once again. This time, she oversees the cubs utilising the two activities. She's focusing mainly on how the cubs are figuring out the moulding board activity, observing them in how they try to fit four wooden figures into the four matching shaped holes in each board. Some cubs seem really good at it, investigating the shapes and figures first before trying different approaches to solving the problem. Others, however, aren't that clever and try the same approach a few times, only to stall repeatedly before yielding out of frustration. Concerning the latter, Shaniqua's to lend them a paw along with some explanation. This way, she's certain all cubs will succeed in improving on their problem-solving skills, as will their knowledge on the difficulties the Sunbirds have to overcome in order to see both the Jaquins and their home realm safe.

However, Shaniqua is not alone. With her, is Avira. She came here to indulge herself with the sight of playful cubs and hopefully can help, too. "I think it is good of you to come here and help these cubs.' Shaniqua says and gives Avira an amiable smile before continuing, 'I am sure they will appreciate it."

Avira looks back at her. She notices the confidence of Shaniqua. There's a spark of kindness in her eyes. Together with that smile, they make Avira feel good about herself. A warm sensation fills her. It's a feeling she seldom experiences and doesn't really know how to cope with it. Avira turns away her head a little out of shyness. This warm feeling should give her a calm state of mind, yet… it doesn't. The sensation starts to feel like embarrassment, instead. She feels it originating from the inability to grow more certain. This has her start wondering again how Shaniqua, let alone Luna, can have such a high level of confidence about themselves. She looks back at Shaniqua and says: "I – want to help, that is all. To see those cubs blossom. And perhaps… Nah, just help."

"What is it? Why are you always so hesitant? I know you can do so much better for yourself. What makes you are this shy, Avira?"

Avira opens her mouth, ready to speak. Yet, she closes it again as she finds no words that could provide an answer. She realises that this question is one that Avira keeps pondering over, asking this herself many times over, yet to no avail. "I – have no… idea, really."

"Well, never mind that. Go and eat some of that delicious food before it is gone! It is only prepared once a year, after all. I will manage these cubs until you get back."

Avira nods. As always, she acknowledges such proposals immediately. No matter how well they were meant, they refrain from speaking her mind. Yet, somehow, this time feels different. She looks sternly at Shaniqua. "No, I will stay here and help you…' she says calmly yet finds no words yet again to back this decision and she falls back into her shy habit, 'There – are so many different foods. I cannot possibly choose between all of them. I will wait until few are left…"

Shaniqua has taken on a stern look herself. Not to intimidate but out of disapproval over Avira's easy wavering. *How come you give up so easily? You are a bright young Jaquin. I know you have potential somewhere inside of you. Yet, you behave so differently from Skylar and Luna, or even Veje or Tudor for that matter. If something bothers you, then out with it! Oh well, perhaps she must see Dulce. She can possibly shed some light onto this troubling matter.* Shaniqua tells herself hoping to find a way and help Avira somehow.

However, she's disrupted in her thinking when a high-pitched scream of frustration rises from one of the cubs. Apparently he fails in combining the wrong wooden figure with a shape in the moulding board. "Well, that is what I was waiting for. I will show you how this is done. The next one is for you."

"Okay…" Avira replies with a reluctant voice.

Not far from the funfair, many Jaquins have obtained themselves different sorts of food items. Luna's one of them. Still deciding on some of the different items available, she finally makes up her mind: *I will have these, and some of these, and this one as well. Oh, now I just hope I can carry them all with me.*

From a distance, Cruz is observing Luna. He watches her collect food, most of it being 'patatas recubiertos'. It happens he craves these as well. Unfortunately, there aren't many left, especially now that Luna's had her go. This makes him wonder if he'll get there in time to acquire the remaining few. But, he doesn't want to go there… yet, for he has a plan. One that will grant him what he desires.

Once Cruz sees Luna take her leave, he approaches the food. As he does, he budges two Jaquins aside who are collecting food still. Disliking this behaviour, especially on a day like this, they eye him with discontent. However, when directly laying eyes upon him they gasp in awe. With wide-open eyes, they look at Cruz now standing beside them. This doesn't go unnoticed, though. "Here I am!' Cruz says proudly with his head held high while smirking and budges aside one more Jaquin, 'Now, I am sure you do not mind if the Navegera goes first. After all, my job is difficult and requires much effort. Therefore, I should grab the best food."

"Yes, of – of course." one of the three budged Jaquins stammers uneasily and steps aside some more without any further protest.

Cruz looks around the food items. There remains little variety in dishes by this time. Yet, he's particularly interested in 'patatas recubiertos'. He only finds two left. He grabs them quickly. *I bet Luna has some more. Surely, she will paw some to me.* he thinks perkily on himself.

Not far from that spot lies Tudor. He managed to gather lots of food. He always does, and always succeeds in eating all of it. His little brother Kamil is jealous of his big brother. He's just finished playing with a moulding board. He looks at his big brother, who's eating away quickly out of relishing habits, and tries to count the many food items he sees lying about. "You eat a lot! Where does it all go?" Kamil asks as he slowly closes in on Tudor.

Tudor looks at Kamil. He answers with his mouth filled with food: "I… um traynin – my lowwer abdommen."

"Hey, you cannot talk with food in your mouth!" Kamil says curtly.

"Then shtop ashing queshtioons.' Tudor replies slowly and swallows the food to clear his mouth, 'By the way, I am allowed to do so because it is for training purposes… of my belly, hehe. Important lesson, Kamil!"

Kamil gives his big brother a questioning look and skews his head. He starts wondering: *How can he train his belly? I cannot do that. I can only train my wings and paws! My big brother is so cool!*

Somewhere in the open savannah woodland still, Veje and Sienté decided to lie down on their backs, side by side, after sky-dancing. It wore them out. Now they rest on the soft grass, which is part of the open field other Jaquins utilise for sky-dancing still. Veje feels he wants to remain close to Sienté, not just mentally, but physically also. He wants to be sure that when done resting he will undertake something else, together with her. "You know, my feelings tell me that I want to spend every waking hour with you today. Today is about Solyestra, and you…"

"Aww, that is a cute thing to say, Veje.' Sienté replies softly and giggles before continuing lovingly, 'You might want to know that more boys tried to spend time with me today. That means you have competition, Veje. You want to remain sharp and be at your best with me, hihi."

"That, I can certainly do." is all Veje replies calmly.

He feels she's trying to stir him, pushing him to say something awkward. This feeling is strengthened by the fact that Soothsayers have this quirk, in which they put little psychological pressure on others by acting teasingly at times, apparently as some form of harmless fun. Veje knows Sienté isn't any different. This makes he's wary for this trick of hers, and won't let her corner him. He stays silent so the initiative remains with her. She turns her head to look at Veje and asks: "Do you ever wonder?"

"About what?"

"Well, the Sunbirds... I mean, we devoted an entire festival to them, out of awe and in their honour. They must have been special."

"Yeah. I can only imagine... Do you remember what the rumours sa…?"

"Of course I do! Everyone knows them. What I mean to say is, what were they really like? How much did they know of us, and what do we really know of them?' Sienté says filled with both curiosity and doubt but suddenly changes to a vivid tone filled with amazement, 'Would they have made concoctions, like those I brew?"

"Ah, I can lie here all day long with you, and listen to every word you say."

"I am serious, Veje. This is not meant to be funny."

"No, it is meant to be sweet!' he says passionately and gently starts clinging onto her bringing his head close to hers, 'Let me tell you something, Sienté. I want to share more of my time with you… After all, moments are worth nothing if not spend with a loved one."

Sienté: "Aw… That is beautifully said, Veje."

"Dió told me this once. I have never forgotten these words since. Somehow I knew that one day, I would get to use them at the right moment…"

"You are such a fine Jaquin, Veje. You always keep surprising me. Just like you did yesterday when you were going to explain to me how you became a Royal Guard…' Sienté says lovingly and calmly as they watch the clouds move past until she notices two shadows in the sky, 'Hey, look at that! Are those… Yeah, there go Migs and Dulce. They must be heading for the woodland to get themselves some food. Speaking of which, I am getting hungry as well. Come, let us follow them."

Meanwhile, Luna lands in the open field that's packed with Jaquins who are eating already. She takes her time to lay herself down next to her food items. She looks at the floor to her left. *Kush-kush yam and a masa tortilla. And, in front of me, some delicious 'rocoto releno' bell peppers and some more 'patatas recubiertos'… Just need to lie down like this… I will not have my beautiful feathers get all dirty now! There, perfect! Mmm-hm, this will be sweet. All ready to start that feast in my mouth!*

Finally managing to lie down comfortably in between the food she'd collected, Luna's determined to enjoy all of the food and is making sure none of it is touching her. If anything, she doesn't want to get her fur and feathers dirty during this relishing moment. Just as she's about to indulge herself on her first bite she hears a familiar and flirtatious voice. "Hola, preciosa!"

She looks up. Cruz stands beside her with a wide grin on his face, seemingly displaying a smug. "Cruz! You came back!" Luna replies thrilled and starts blushing mildly.

"Huh? Back?" he asks of confusion.

"Yeah. You know, we were talking in the Palace this morning, when you left all of a sudden."

"Ah, right…" Cruz replies reluctantly while staring at her blankly.

He looks up toward the sky and starts thinking back intensely about today but cannot recall that moment at all. All he remembers from his time in the Palace are the two altercations he had with Zephyr and Tornado. He looks back at Luna and instead starts smiling vigorously, knowing that his flamboyant appearance will surely save him once again. He influenced her this way before. Now he tries again to such an extent that he can manipulate her to his will. Luna hasn't the slightest clue about his intentions. Instead, she giggles briefly to his remark, still enamoured with him. She wanted some alone time with Cruz since yesterday at Mooncliff, and now the opportunity finally rises. "I am glad you came. How is the Navegera doing?" she asks flirtatiously and makes for a coy expression by cocking her head slightly to one side.

"I am doing great, as always! Chief Zephyr is happy with me.' he replies with a lie in a flippant manner that makes him grin yet continues in a loving way, 'Well, enough talk. How about you share some of that food with me?"

"I am impressed with your confidence, Cruz. Not being afraid of anything, speaking up whatever comes to mind.' Luna slowly says lovingly and starts blushing even more, 'You are such a likable Jaquin! Tell you what. I trade some of my food for some of your company."

Cruz seems inattentive for her when addressed. He rather focuses more on collecting one of her favourite foods and a masa tortilla. He starts with the tortilla and devours it with such dedication that he doesn't even realise some of the tortilla juice is dripping onto his fur. He carelessly consumes the portion of Luna's food she easily relinquished to become even more favoured with him.

Suddenly, something catches Luna's eye. With a frightful look, she watches something unfold before her. Something she condemns, as does king Verago whenever he would see it. Something that most try to avoid from happening, yet is instigated because someone thinks its funny. "Food fight!" Nico yells gleefully while standing on his hind feet.

Luna sighs as she observes him hurdling a piece of food, probably a left-over, through the air. Seemingly thrown without a true target in mind, it hits Vestia who shrieks in anger. Luna can hear Cruz snicker faintly, followed by the words 'Poor sis.'. As the food fight unfolds in front of her, Luna keeps hoping that she won't become part of this foul play. Of every outcome possible, she'll always hope it be the one in which she doesn't get targeted. Afraid of her plumage getting dirty, she keeps watching the hurdled food closely and prepares to dodge any of those that might come her way.

A few yards away from her, lies Tudor. His belly is full and expanded from all the food he's consumed so far. But knowing him, he never will skip another bite for each one of them is tasty to a delightful extent. Therefore, he always eats a wee bit more, or even loads more, than others. He's looking at some left-overs lying in front of him. He gladly joins the mischievous game. He starts gazing at Skylar from the corner of his eyes, watching him closely. A sly grin appears on his face as he looks back at his left-overs. He picks up a piece. *This will work… Just need to do it just right.* he thinks whilst estimating the distance between him and his target.

He readies himself to hurdle the piece of food at Skylar. He raises his paw and starts aiming. Quickly, he glances around to see if no one notices him, and throws… With a thump, the small piece of food lands on top of some fruit lying in front of Skylar. "Hey!" Skylar exclaims in utter surprise.

He picks it up and looks in the direction from where he believes the hurdled food came. His eyes immediately find Tudor, who's busy nibbling on a red-branched cassava root and has his lavish-looking eyes fixated on it, seemingly unaware of his surroundings. Skylar does, however, notice a faint sly grin on Tudor's face. *I bet… Yet you seem to enjoy yourself eating so much. You always do… Nah, it must not have been you. Not this time.* Skylar ponders.

By now, Migs and Dulce arrive in the open woodland. The moment they land, Migs slams both paws against his cheeks. His face displays horror as he witnesses, in his eyes, the disturbing sight of the food fight: some Jaquins look dirty from stains and bits of food covering their fur. "Oh no! What happened here?" he exclaims in sheer terror.

Meanwhile, Skylar still looks for the one responsible for startling him. His gaze finds a Jaquin looking back at him. It's Veje. He just landed near the flock together with Sienté. He had been paying attention to the food fight from above. *Ha, Skylar does not know who threw that piece of food at him.* Veje thinks amusing himself with this thought.

*Ah, haha… It was you, Veje! The culprit always remains watching…* Skylar thinks in sheer pride of having found his "besieger".

Skylar quickly hurdles the piece of left-over food at Veje, who watches it come at him. However, Veje feels it's going to miss him. He turns to Sienté, who's smiling intensely at him. He nods slowly. At that point, the piece of left-over bell pepper hits his shoulder. "Ow! What for, Skylar?" Veje exclaims in surprise.

At the same time and not far from this mischievous scene, Dióntan's finishing up on a 'masa tortilla'. He completely indulges himself in the act of feeding. So much even, that he doesn't notice a Spinkey carefully drawing near. The cracking of a branch startles him. He looks up but only hears some footsteps at first. He then looks behind him, only to see the back of the Spinkey as it runs away, shouting: "Thank you. Hahaha!"

To his displeasure, Dióntan notices the creature has stolen his squash, holding it under its arm as the Spinkey runs off laughing still. "Hey, come back you!" Dióntan yells angry.

Dióntan starts chasing after the Spinkey, keeping low to the ground as he flies to close the distance between him and the little thief. He urges himself to catch the creature quickly. After all, he doesn't want to become known as the lazy Jaquin, a title he'll say belongs to his brother. While chasing the Spinkey, two other Spinkeys steal the rest of his food he left behind. This will undoubtedly leave Dióntan with an unpleasant surprise whenever he returns to his feeding spot…


	19. Solyestra - part 6

_With the festival being halfway through, the Jaquins are still enjoying themselves. Most of them, not all…_

* * *

Skylar laughs mildly over his successful attempt in hitting Veje with a piece of left-over bell pepper. A victory in his book! The reaction by Veje, being one of surprise, only strengthens Skylar's belief of Veje being his "besieger". Veje tries to inspect the fur on his shoulder for any remains of the bell pepper. Sienté starts helping him and rubs some of it away. She then turns to Skylar, her eyes widened while shaking her head sideways slowly in disbelief. Veje looks at her. Softly, so only she can hear him, he says: "Let me return the favour."

"No! That would only instigate him in doing it again, and likely makes Nico join, too. You will not want to disgrace yourself." Sienté replies commandingly while keeping her eyes on Skylar.

However, it's not only she who keeps a close eye on him. Migs, too, does this. When Skylar picks up another piece of food, he snorts out of annoyance. He pains himself by thinking: *When will he finally grow up? He has so much to learn about being responsible still…*

Skylar brings this piece of food toward his mouth, though. "Are you going to hurdle this food also?" Verago asks slowly.

Skylar freezes in motion, his eyes widened of terror. *Ay! I forgot he was here with me… This time I am in real trouble!* Skylar thinks to himself without trying to make eye-contact with his father.

However, he cannot sustain this and slowly directs his gaze toward Verago. With a stern look on his face, Verago eyes his eldest son in a judgmental way. "Heh… I – I was just throwing away – a bad piece of food… I guess." Skylar says mournfully and cowers down with his head lowered in submission.

"You keep amazing me, Skylar. But unfortunately, not in a positive way.' Verago says indignantly and looms over his son curious in knowing the following, 'How can it be that the crown prince keeps disregarding the teachings of his father?"

Verago sighs tiringly. While awaiting a reply from his eldest son, a thought crosses his mind: *Why do I have to give this talk about responsibility now? The festival is always fun but at moments like this, it can be equally cumbersome as well. Though, I should not worry. After all, I am sure Skylar will show responsibility one day. I just hope that day will come soon…*

"Eh, heh…' Skylar starts off uneasily but recovers and continues with a soft voice, 'Nico started it."

"This may be so. However, you and I are here now so I am addressing you first. I will have a word with Nico about this soon. Remember, Skylar. You are of royalty, like me. One day, you will become king of the Jaquins. From that day on, you will come to reign over us all. That is a heavy burden to carry, and with great burden comes great responsibility. How do you think others are to take your example and follow you as their leader in the future when you act carelessly today? You know I expect better from y…"

"Eee-eww!"

Suddenly, everyone looks up as they hear a familiar voice carry across the open woodland. It's Avira, standing in terror with her eyes wide open, her face displaying disgust. "How… Why are – are some of you cov–ered in… food?" she asks slowly of the distasteful sight she just laid eyes upon.

Right after asking this, Avira gets ample time to receive a reply. Tornado stands close to the feeding flock of those very same Jaquins. "Listen up! Each one of you knows to keep your paws off of my trapping beans unless I say you can!' she bellows at the group and holds up the trapping bean being hidden among the food earlier, 'So, who took this trapping bean?"

Dióntan realises he's responsible. He gulps hoping not to be betrayed by his posture… or Luna. He looks her way from the corner of his eyes. She's looking at Tornado still. *Phew! She has not realised yet… I just hope no one finds out…* he thinks uneasily.

"Tudor!" he exclaims before realising it.

Tornado gazes at Tudor first. Her stern and irate look, one she displays may times often, reveals she means business this time. Then, she switches her gaze to Dióntan, and says: "I have a complaint about you…"

Tudor starts snickering while pointing one of his paws at Dióntan. "I am talking of you, Tudor." Tornado states unmoved.

Tudor startles, quitting on his scornful laughter. "Huh? What about me?" he asks indignantly.

On his turn, Dióntan starts laughing while looking at Tudor. Tornado starts looking irritably and says with a raised voice: "Nothing of what I am saying is funny!"

Tudor gazes around him to see whatever he could've instigated and directs his attention back at Tornado. "Did someone put that bean between the food? Haha! That is awesome."

"I could have known it was you…" Tornado says and sighs.

"What? I did not put that there! But it is funny still, hehe."

"Mm-hmm. Do it again and I will trap you in it for an entire day!" Tornado says loudly and points at the trapping bean using a wing of hers.

Amidst this distraction, Skylar feels he's not exactly amused to the fullest. He rather feels how he thinks Migs is feeling day in and day out: grumpy and boring. He should be enjoying himself, instead. After all, today is meant to have fun, and relax all day long; no quota, no preparation for anything, not even a grooming session. Today should all be about feeding, dancing, and paying one's respects to the Sunbirds through chants, even though those very Sunbirds haven't shown themselves since time and day, seemingly not hearing the Jaquin's paean on this day of their honour.

Skylar seizes the opportunity in moving away from his father unnoticed. He sneakily walks over to Nico and says: "Nico, come on. Father wants to reproach you for starting this food fight. Let us go somewhere fun, instead… Ooh, the funfair. At least it has "fun" in it!"

"Yeah, I do not want dad teaching me a lesson today…' Nico replies peevishly yet stands up and continues heartily, 'Okay, I will come with!"

At the same time, Luna feels stuffed. She never has been a big eater. She gets up from her comfortable position and goes to sit upright next to Cruz, who's still lying. He finished his portion of her food and now feels content. He feels drowsy and ready to take a nap. Luna on the other hand feels energetic. From that upright position, she immediately notices Skylar and Nico heading for the funfair. Luna looks at Cruz and says: "I wonder what Skylar is going to do at the funfair… He has no idea how to teach cubs. He is probably going to play with them, I guess. Someone should be teaching those cubs. They must have no clue what they are supposed to do, and neither does Skylar."

Migs, who can overhear the conversation while making his way to the food corner with Dulce, chuckles and replies: "Do not forget to add Nico to that list."

"Uh-huh." Luna agrees.

All of this unleashes a desire coursing through her now. She feels a compelling need to pay the cubs at the funfair a visit. She wants to see how well cared for they are, knowing that she, Dulce, and Shaniqua all share a highly intrinsic will to look after the little ones, especially with Skylar near them as he will only want to play and not teach.

Upon arrival, she notices Skylar and Nico there as well. They're standing next to the high-striker. The cub standing in front of it is Kamil. He looks puzzled, much like other cubs watching him and see what they're supposed to do with this novel activity.

Meanwhile, Tudor and Kamil are on their way back to the funfair. Kamil is determined to take part in the other activity at the funfair: the Pillar of Quita Moz, a device acting much like a high-striker. As they walk there, they go past another little Jaquin: Llemopaz. This Jaquin cub is returning to see his mother, coming back from the moulding board activity. To him, this was easy. Llemopaz has always been a clever cub, trying to figure out multiple approaches to a single problem. Besides his complex thinking, he also likes to regularly mull about the world around him and all that concerns him. Arriving with his mother, he has a new and difficult question to ask her. Something she might shed some light on. Something that troubles him during the moulding board activity. After succeeding in placing the wooden figures shaped to the matching holes in the board, he put one of his little paws through one of the holes. Seeing his paw on one other side of the board while his body was on the other side still, he got puzzled. Therefore, Llemopaz truly sees his mother as a source of inspiration, one whom he can draw fresh new ideas from when asking her all kinds of questions.

His mother has just acquired herself food, enough for both herself and her young son. That is of no importance to him, however. He's rather busy figuring out how to ask her this very important question, one that certainly cannot wait. "Mamita, is everything of my body stuck?"

"There you are, Llemopaz. How was the activity?"

"Not important! I want to know if my body has everything stuck."

"… Stuck?"

"Yes! So, my head is stuck to my… neck and my neck is stuck to my – my body. Right?"

"Yes… That is true."

"So, is the toe on my… hind leg stuck to my head?"

"Uh… I – do not… That is a good question, Llemopaz! Why – not ask chief Zephyr – when you see him? He certainly knows the answer to that question!"

"Okay!" he replies exuberantly and flies off in search of the grey old Jaquin.

His mother sighs. *All these questions…* she thinks tiringly.

And not only that. Llemopaz has really has been thinking them over. Each time, she needs to come up with a deliberate answer to keep him busy so she can tend to her own needs. Her son is a bright chap but sometimes this trait of his gets on her nerves.

By now, Kamil and Tudor reach the funfair. They immediately head for the high-striker. However, there are some cubs standing around it already. Feeling energised from eating lots of delicious food still, Kamil lifts himself onto his big brother's head. Tudor chuckles at Kamil's antics. From up there, Kamil looks at the high-striker and starts making joyous sounds. Feeling that Tudor should be doing the same he grabs his brother by the ears. Kamil starts pulling on them and yells joyfully: "Make weird faces, too!"

Tudor produces some high pitches of agony as Kamil plays particularly rough. His face shows scorn for Kamil's action. "Not like that!" Kamil exclaims impatiently and pulls somewhat harder.

"Ah…! Stop it!" Tudor yells scornfully.

At this point, the cubs standing around the high-striker are looking at the two, completely forgetting about the device they're surrounding. They pay their full attention to the two clowns. The cubs start laughing and a few even try to produce the same sounds Tudor was making just now. Unbeknownst of becoming surrounded by the cubs, Tudor gets to grab Kamil and puts him on the ground before him, after which he quickly starts massaging his pained ears.

Kamil goes to stand in front of it. He looks at it and sees the pillar extend all the way up. *It is so huge!* he thinks while staring at the top.

He then looks down to the octagon ring that envelops part of the pillar. He softly touches the pad in front of him. "Come on, Kamil' he hears Tudor shout encouragingly and looks at his brother, 'Slam the pad as hard as you can with those little paws of yours!"

Kamil starts looking irritated and shouts back: "I do not have little paws!"

He looks down at his paws. All he sees are big paws. He's right: his paws are not little! Though, the paws of his big brother somehow do look so much bigger than his own… Yet, Kamil's dedicated to utilising the high-striker. He looks his brother in the eyes, who in turn bears a huge smile on his face and nods at him for some more encouragement. Kamil nods back happily. He turns around and looks at the pad one more time. To everyone's surprise, the little Jaquin lifts himself up in the air a little, hovering above the pad. Then, he slams his entire body on it! He lands so hard on it, the ring flies up fast. Kamil sees the ring move all the way up the pillar. The ring rams the top piece of the pillar with a thud… and remains there. It doesn't come back down, something that everyone expects it to do. Kamil is so very proud of himself! He's done no one else ever managed to do! Excited in how strong he is with his supposedly small paws, he turns around and looks at his brother. "I am stronger than you, big brother!" he yells and starts cackling.

Tudor bears an agitated look on his face. Feeling ashamed that the high-striker seems broken and replies with a sigh: "Oh, Kamil… look what you did. The device is stuck completely! How are others supposed to play with it now?"


	20. Solyestra - part 7

_With the sun starting to set and preluding the end of the festival, most Jaquins try to enjoy as much as they still can during Solyestra, though this might lead to behaviour crossing limits under some watchful eyes…_

* * *

His brother's words make Kamil sad. He starts displaying a shameful gaze, his eyes starting to look dreary. It would seem the cub's about to start crying. Feeling uncomfortable and not knowing where to look, the little Jaquin directs his attention to the ring hanging above him. "Come down, ring!' Kamil exclaims with a sad tone and reverts to a driveling one even, 'Why is it all the way up there? What is it doo-ing?"

"Whoo-hoo!' Skylar exclaims cheerfully as he swoops in seeing the ring hanging at the top and goes to hover next to Kamil, 'Did you do that? Amazing! Do it again!"

"No, he cannot! Now it is stuck all the way up there like I said." Tudor replies irritably.

Tudor looks at the other Jaquins around the device. Unlike him, they seem thrilled by Kamil's achievement, as well as by Skylar's perky attitude. "Well, look at that!' Migs says lively as he and Dulce arrive just after Skylar and acts thrilled as well, 'This human apparatus seems quite favoured! Who was able to shoot Quita Moz up to the top?"

To everyone's surprise, Tudor energetically replies: "My little brother did! He is the strongest cub!"

"Yeah!' Kamil shouts equally energised yet starts complaining after a brief realisation instead, 'Now it must come down."

Migs chuckles at the ignorance of the cub. Smiling at him, he says: "Does it now? Kamil, that ring represents the Sunbirds. Look closely at the paintings. They depict the four most well-known of them, including Quita Moz himself! Now, since you were able to shoot them up into the sky, and thus toward the sun, you showed a lot of dedication to the Sunbirds! You sort of help them like they help us lead a splendid life here in Vallestrella!"

Hearing all of this, Skylar gives Migs a bored look as he rolls his eyes. As he lands next to Tudor, a thought sends him drifting off with a glazing look: *Ugh, he sounds exactly like Zephyr does! One day, I get to call him 'demaciado gris', too.*

This thought, however, amuses Skylar. It produces a sly grin on his face that would make one think Skylar to be in his happy place… Yet, this changes suddenly upon Skylar noticing Migs is looking directly at him. With a questioning glance radiating from his eyes, it seems Migs knows… "You are – hearing my thoughts… about you?" Skylar asks in confusion.

"What? Uh – no. How would I…' Migs replies frowningly by this random question and shakes off the idea, 'Never mind. I was going to say your presence reminded me of a favour your father asked of me. Just a little something, but since the day is coming toward an end, I better do it now."

"Migs. This is Solyestra! Now is fun-time, so no duties." Dulce replies joyously yet with a commanding undertone to it.

Tudor is quick to step in and adds: "Meh, he only knows Migs-time; no room for fun."

Migs audibly sighs over Tudor's remark and he rolls his eyes. He then rubs heads with Dulce and takes his leave, heading for the food corner.

While Migs flies off, Verago replaces Migs' presence and lands near them. He looks suspicious at first, caring to know what his sons are up to after the talk he had with Skylar earlier today. This changes to an amiable look, however, when glancing at the cubs. He smiles genuinely, seeing that they're having fun. "Ah, I cannot express my happiness more when beholding such a marvelous sight! Seeing all of you helping the cubs being taught important lessons is the pinnacle of Solyestra!' Verago says happily and turns to Skylar, Nico, Dulce, Veje, and Tudor, 'Yet. I came here for a different reason. I want you to know there is still food left to be eaten. It would be a waste if we were to dispose of it."

"Unless if disposed into a stomach." Dulce jests in a witty manner and giggles.

Tudor quirks at Dulce's remark, feeling spoken to the heart. He takes a step towards Verago and raises a paw in a humble manner, stating at a solemn tone: "I humbly accept, and will gladly sacrifice myself for this noble cause."

Verago frowns at Tudor's remark yet nods agreeingly, while Nico bursts out in mild laughter and perkily adds: "Haha! Of course, Tudor. How foretelling you are!"

Skylar chuckles over Nico's remark. In turn, Tudor smirks at Nico and rubs his belly. He then takes off and heads after Migs.

Seeing Tudor fly out, Skylar comes to a realisation! One with how he will make things right with his father again, so he won't receive yet another lecture on responsibility. Being filled with enthusiasm still, he exclaims in full excitement: "Hey! Let us fix this pillar! Someone help me bring that ring back down again so the cubs can play with it again!"

He quickly glances at Verago to see if his father has heard him. Indeed he has. Verago looks at his son with a stern yet amiable look. Skylar can tell his father's mind hasn't quite settled yet as he sees his tail fidgeting slightly of irritation, nonetheless. Verago, on the other hand, maintains a distance from both of his sons. He wants to see whether they can, in fact, act responsibly. Hearing Skylar saying those words fills his heart with pride and makes him feel content. Nico, on his turn, is the first to respond to Skylar's request and flies up to the ring together with his big brother. Together, they grab the ring one at each side and hold it firmly as both Jaquins start pulling on it. Slowly, the ring starts moving, and with a little more effort both Jaquins succeed in lowering the ring all the way back down. Their triumph is accompanied by cheering from everyone present around the ring. Dulce and Kamil in particular cheer gleefully at the successful attempt as they see the two princes land beside Kamil.

Just as he's done, Skylar starts hearing wing-flapping behind him. He looks up to see who's approaching him. The very moment he does so, he spots Veje holding something. Immediately after, the rose taupe Jaquin makes a hurdling motion and with no time to respond, Skylar feels something smushy hitting a wing of his. "Got you back!" Veje says joyfully.

Looking over his shoulder, Skylar sees his wing has gotten dirty with what appears as some remains of food. He looks back at Veje in disbelief. Those beside Skylar start laughing. Skylar gazes around him and sees them… enjoying themselves to the fullest! *This is – the coolest festival ever!* he thinks in great joy and joins the laughter.

However, one particular Jaquin scowls at this very situation, with an unpleasant thought crossing his mind: *He should not have done that. He knows better! This calls for certain repercussion…*

Meanwhile, Tudor reaches the feeding grounds. There, he sees many a Jaquin feeding still or resting from this activity. Among them are his parents and Zephyr, Luna, Cruz and Vestia, Dióntan and Sienté, Avira and Shaniqua. However, the spring green Jaquin isn't interested in any of them, not even in the latter one who he's been so close with since cubhood. No, Tudor has someone else on his mind. He knows the adolescent Jaquin that preceded him to this area must be here, too. Tudor wants to banter him once more, just for the fun of it. After all, that _is_ what today is all about, it simply comes down to how one defines "fun". Then, he spots his target. Migs has started counting the remainder of the berries at the food corner. He placing those he counted on a huge leaf he laid out next to him. "Migs, Migs! I need to tell you something.' Tudor exclaims in faked fear as he descends and notices Migs' ears twitch in a reaction to his name being yelled, 'Hey, Migs!"

Migs clearly hears Tudor calling for him. Yet, he effectively ignores the mischievous Jaquin. For the remainder of the day, Migs wants peace and quiet and desires none around him that are to bother him. In this picture, Skylar nor Tudor fit. Besides, Tudor's likely to make a fool out of him once more. Therefore, Migs decides to continue counting, trying to completely ignore Tudor. He hears the spring green Jaquin land next to him, and address him yet again in the same tone. Somehow, this makes him rather curious. *What if Tudor acts responsible for once and something is going on? I can ignore him, but I cannot ignore a call for help.* Migs ponders.

He looks up with his eyes squinted to show his irritation with Tudor. "What is it?" he asks droningly.

"Migs… You need to start counting that food again." Tudor says with a serious look on his face.

A look of utter confusion appears on Migs' face. Out of everything he thought he would hear from Tudor, this wasn't what he expected him to ask or say… Unable to comprehend Tudor's reasoning, Migs looks back down at the remaining food. He frowns as he tries to overcome the confusion. He shrugs once and continues counting. "No, I do no…' he insists yet suddenly ceases on both his counting and speaking and releases an irate groan, 'Argh, now I have lost count!"

"Hehe, told you!" Tudor exclaims and starts snickering.

Migs looks at Tudor irritably. Yet, he comments in an almost uncanny calm way: "Know what? Why not eat this all? You never gain weight and, above all else, you cannot resist this idea. What say you, hmm?"

While he says this, Tudor starts liking the words he's hearing. A grin appears on his face, becoming wider as he hears Migs' plans. While also starting to make short but ecstatic-like nods, Migs flies off and almost bumps into Dulce. "Migs! I just remembered something we forgot, something the cubs will enjoy also. Come with!" she says thrilled and takes him to the Palace.

A little while later, Migs and Dulce arrive back at the funfair. They're holding a large wooden board shaped to a head of sorts with a face drawn on one side, including an oval-shaped hole where the mouth is. Upon touching down, everyone at the funfair now gets a good glimpse of it. "What is that?" the couple hear some thinking out loud.

Suddenly, they hear a familiar voice from behind. "Is that something boring?" Tudor asks curiously while holding the remaining food items he's yet to consume.

"This… is a board with a large opening in it as you can see. There is something painted on it – a face of sorts." Migs says cautiously.

"Hehe, you are clueless." Tudor comments and winks at those standing behind Migs and Dulce.

Migs gazes at Tudor, his face displaying a sour look. Dulce steps in and says: "This hole in the board is meant to throw food in. Stay there, Tudor, so you can catch all the food being thrown. Hihi, you seem to have quite an appetite still. Speaking of which, I will take those."

Without waiting for a reply, she takes the food away from Tudor and goes to stand between the others at the funfair. "Hey! Not fair…" Tudor says sulky as he tries following her yet halts next to the board where Dulce was earlier.

Dulce takes half a squash and gives it to Kamil who stands next to her. "Give it a go! Throw the squash at the big head." Dulce says motherly.

Standing next to the figurine on one side with Migs on the other side holding it, Tudor grabs and holds the figurine also. Migs starts encouraging Kamil by shouting: "Go for it, Kamil! Throw the squash into the mouth of this figurine."

"Or throw it against Migs his mouth, hehe." Tudor adds quickly.

Kamil replies with an enthusiastic 'Okay!' and looks at the figurine intensely. He bends both paws so he now holds the huge squash close to his face, effectively obstructing his view on anything in front of him, including Migs and Tudor. Migs looks at Kamil out of pure confusion, thinking: *I dearly hope you were not replying to that foolish remark by your brother…*

Tudor, however, is looking at Migs. Apparently, Tudor has no interest in his little brother. At least, not at this moment. He's solely eyeing Migs, keen on drawing his attention and seeing him get hit by the squash. On top of that, there's this spookily and satisfied-looking grin spreading across his face. Apparently, Tudor has come up with something devious… This seemingly malicious look makes Migs grow nervous as he eyes Tudor from the corner of his eyes and decides to ignore him entirely. At that point, Kamil decides to go for it! He hurdles the squash forward. Apparently, throwing stuff isn't Kamil's greatest of abilities. As the squash flies through the air, it isn't getting anywhere near the mouth of the figurine. Migs carefully watches the squash fly through the air and sees it land… right against Tudor's face. Being so busy watching Migs getting hit, instead, he didn't even bother looking at the projectile coming right at him!

Skylar and Nico go stand beside Dulce, Veje, and some other Jaquins, chuckling along with them as softly as possible. Softly, because they're closest to their father and feel hindered from laughing out loud. Obviously, Verago had witnessed the very same ordeal taking place. However, he isn't laughing. Doing so over someone's misery, how innocent it may seem, is not one of his ways. With a stern look on his face, he watches everyone but isn't intervening to stop them… He simply waits for the laughter over Tudor to fade by itself, which doesn't take too long given the way he eyes everyone with that stern look upon his face. Skylar and Nico look back at their father. Verago sits in front of them and the others. As always, he does so chin up and his regal chest forward, a posture that makes him look rather austere, yet one befitting a king. But no matter how he moves or looks, Verago can make any posture look majestic. Eyeing the pillar first and his two sons after, he makes an even so slight nod showing them gratitude for repairing the device. Then, a Jaquin steps forward. She looks at the pillar and returns her gaze at Verago. "King Verago. All this fun and these games are benevolent and all,' she starts off in a kind manner yet turns to a more serious tone of voice, 'but I have a question. Each year we hold this festival. Each year we come together and celebrate this as a tribute to the Sunbirds watching over us."

Verago remains silent. He solely looks at her, without speaking or blinking even. During this moment of silence, Nico decides to join in on the matter: "Yeah, I was wondering the same thing just now. If this is their festival, then where are they, father? No one has seen even a single Sunbird in…"

He stops himself. He starts pondering on how long ago it was when the last Sunbird, Quita Moz, attended this festival. While doing so, another Jaquin comes standing next to him and raises his opinion bluntly: "You said it right! They no longer are among us. The no longer help us also! We honour… No, we honoured them."

"Silence!' Verago growls with a voice filled with anger that carries throughout the open woodland but then he calms down and looks out over the flock of Jaquins in front of him before continuing, 'Their presence is not the sole reason we are holding this annual festival. If the Sunbirds do not wish to attend, then so be it. This does not mean they stopped caring about us. We live our lives here in Vallestrella in both harmony and good health, something we should be grateful for!"

"Dad, you told us they attended this festival before they vanished. Now we look out for them each year. They never come back to us anymore! Even Quita Moz, who – was…" Skylar says cautiously as well.

He wants to speak more. His mouth is open but no words come out. He simply cannot find the right words to express himself any further. Verago, on the other hand, starts looking troubled when hearing the name Quita Moz. *It has been a long time since I last heard that name.* he ponders.

The black Jaquin closes his eyes. All who are in his close proximity start holding their breath, awaiting what's to come. Verago then reopens his eyes. He avoids eye-contact and seemingly gazes into the distance. Then, he says with a bitter tone: "I know, Skylar. When I was the age Migs is now I saw Quita Moz leave. The Sunbirds left under my rule, vanished from – what seems existence. They went somewhere, to a place where we possibly cannot follow. The Sunbirds have flown away… perhaps even – ran off."

"You cannot have helped it, father. I… You told us what happened… Even if – all that is…' Skylar states hesitantly at first trying to find the right words to speak his mind but then picks himself up and confidently takes a step closer to Verago, 'You are not responsible for the disappearance of the Sunbirds. What happened to mother was not your fault!"


	21. Solyestra - part 8

**Author's note: I've revised the second half of the **_previous_** chapter to make for a better transition to this one. Please read the revised part first before reading this chapter. Thank you!**

_Now that the festival draws to an end, the Jaquins start preparing themselves for the final activities for today._

* * *

"Skylar!' Verago shouts gruffly demanding his son to cease speaking and he growls once more which scares the other Jaquins leaving Skylar taken aback, 'I will hear no more of this! We are celebrating Solyestra! This day stands in the honour of the Sunbirds, and nothing else… Migs, Dulce! Come with me! We must prepare for the closing meeting for this day."

"Sí… Yes, king Verago." Migs stammers uneasily at Verago's gruff intonation.

Both Migs and Dulce clearly can hear Verago being distressed after hearing again about his former mate. They know the disappearance of Myra, the former queen of Vallestrella, was troubling to Verago. Even after all those years, thinking about her seems to leave his mind clouded at times. *This makes him more austere than need be.* Migs thinks worryingly.

Before he starts following his king, Migs eyes Skylar and Nico out of little desperation, hoping that somehow their expressions can work soothingly for him. However, he sees both boys still being taken aback from their father's reprimand, their eyes enlarged still as they follow up on their father, who by now takes to the skies and heads for the Palace…

While the atmosphere at the funfair feels tense, it's quite the opposite over at the woodland. Some Jaquins are making conversation, while others are enjoying the remainder of the food they'd collected, and yet even others are basking in the sun. The latter is how Dióntan feels right now. He just found his way onto an upright standing rock, providing him with a vista overseeing the area. He takes in the view as he observes the woodland…

Then an idea strikes him: look for Luna. If he'd find her and be able to dance with her on a festive day like this, he'll surely deem this day complete! This thought makes him feel exalted and loosens him up also. The idea of wanting to woo Luna makes him feel like a suitor. After all, he's been feeling flirtatious lately, and ever since his brother started hanging out with Sienté, he now feels pressed to do the same. He's always been fond of Luna, feeling a funny feeling inside his belly every time he thinks about her. With time, this feeling developed into a silent crush without him spending too much attention to it. Still, it has him wanting to be around her and spend more and intricate time with her. Finding her lying about not too far away from his position, this emotion rises in him even more now that he starts watching her. Of all the females he can observe, that funny feeling in his belly isn't more present when laying eyes on Luna. *Argh, this is not getting me anywhere! She can act so distant… Her sharp commenting and often vehement personality. Hmm, now that I think of it: I also just described Vestia.* he wonders as he gives the females a thought.

Luna can act brash and loud, but proud also, and is always speaking her mind. Typical Luna stuff, or so Dióntan would describe these traits of her. As he remains intensely focused on her as a predator does with a prey, he becomes mesmerised and unable to get all of this out of his mind. It makes him want to approach her, also because today just feels right. But, besides Luna he also notices Cruz… Dióntan feels uneasy in his presence. Somehow, he never understood what she could see in him. Cruz, nothing more than the unpolished embodiment of a Juggernaut: strong, bulky, and fierce, but one with a brute and arrogant attitude. One Dióntan knows to be no match for if trying to chase him away from Luna. All this pondering really has him crave spending time with someone. It tortures him. He dearly wants to spend time with Luna, something he'd wanted to do for some time but never found the confidence to do so. *If unable to be close with Luna this evening, I will need to find someone else…* he ponders frustratingly.

Suddenly, he sees another noticeable Jaquin. *Ugh, and not to mention Tornado! She is always acting aloof. The spinster that she is, she definitely takes no for an answer if it comes to love interests! I just wonder why…*

While getting carried away by this thought, he spots Avira sitting by herself. She's quite the opposite of Luna and Vestia, being so shy and speaking only when she needs to. *Too much for my taste. I want to spend time with someone now… Argh, why is Cruz over there? Go away! Can you not see I want some Luna time as well? Maybe I need to seek someone in between for now, someone that compliments my confidence also. Someone who I…* he thinks and stops himself when laying eyes upon the female he deems perfect.

While he's in deep thoughts over who to pick this evening, Luna on the other hand feels content. She just ate good food, finds herself amongst pleasant Jaquins, is basking in the soothing sun, and, above all, is finally spending some quality time with Cruz that she'd been longing for. As she tries to make conversation with him, she also spots Avira at a short distance from the rest, lying stretched out comfortably on the ground and minding her own business, while carefully nibbling on what may be the very last prepared piece of food. On an impulse of feeling whole, Luna shouts excitingly: "¡Esta fiesta tiene comida muy buena!"

From behind her, she hears another female stating the exact same: "This party has very good food!"

Luna immediately looks up. She notices Tudor's mother speaking. A wide smile appears on her face. With the same ardour as before, Luna says to her: "Hey, I just said the exact same thing!"

By now, Dióntan has made up his mind. He decides to approach her. The azure blue Jaquin puts up a confident smile as he draws closer. He sits down right next to her. The female is busy rummaging through the feathers of one of her wings again, a typical quirk of hers. This makes her not noticing him. Some quick thinking makes Dióntan say calmly: "Here, let me help you."

The moment she looks up, he winks at her and starts grooming her wing for her. Sienté looks up at him as he intricately cleans her wing. "Ah! Thanks, Dióntan." she replies amiably.

Dióntan looks up and they catch each other's gaze. He cannot suppress the smile that starts appearing on his face. "Querida Sienté…' he starts uneasily but clears his throat and continuous more lovingly, 'Dear Sienté, will you have a dance with me during sunset?"

"Oh, okay. That came as a surprise, to be honest."

"Really?' Dióntan asks startled but quickly recovers into a loving approach and softly continues, 'Please, do tell."

"It is funny that you pick me because your brother happens to have a liking for me as well. It seems you and him have more in common than I thought. Picking the same female, being quite reserved yet confident, and…"

"What? No way! Veje is not confident. That is typically me, being brave and such." Dióntan replies fiercely.

"Then why have you not approached Luna yet? The way I sometimes see you look at her – makes me think you have a genuine liking for her."

"Uhm, yes… But you know her as well. She does typical Luna stuff."

"True. But that should not hold you back. Hmm…' Sienté says as she slows down her speech and seems thinking before she continues shortly after, 'Okay, let me make you a deal. If we dance this evening, you will ask Luna for a sleepover after."

"Uh… Hey, that sounds like extortion."

Sienté smirks and teasingly asks him: "Well, do you want to dance with me or not?"

Dióntan slows his speech down as he keeps an eye on Luna from his peripheral view. Droningly, he asks: "What if Cruz stays here in Vallestrella tonight? He will likely stay with her… Will she ask him to spend the night in…"

"¿Su nido?"

"Her nest – yes." he now says vaguely as he's distracted by the sight of Cruz hanging around Luna still.

"How am I to know? I am not too familiar with Cruz nor his intentions, or with her feelings for him. If you want to know, go and ask her… or him.' Sienté says calmly but then puts some vigor to her voice, 'But, you can do this once we have danced!"

"Yeah…' Dióntan says reluctantly as he tries to figure out whether he's being manipulated on purpose but shrugs and instead shouts energetically, 'Come on!"

At the same time, Migs and Dulce fly closely behind their king. Both look somewhat anxious over Verago's attitude back at the funfair, where he single-handedly altered the pleasant atmosphere into a grim one. *It is something he would normally not do. Something is stirring him when the queen is brought up by someone else… Given that he deems any conversation about Myra an undesirable topic, I wonder what troubles our king so much?* Dulce ponders over Verago's raw behaviour.

Though she is eager to know how the king feels now, she's withholding herself from asking him directly. Instead, Dulce persuades Migs to check with Verago using a few short gestures with the head. Migs gives in after a few attempts and slowly goes flying next to his king. From here, Migs has a good view of Verago's face and sees he's looking less stressed than he did earlier. Being away from the funfair eased his mind, or so Migs would say. His face looks distressed no longer, almost radiating ease as if nothing happened just now. To assess whether he's right or not, Migs comments carefully: "I must say, king Verago, you left Skylar humbled back there."

Without looking up, Verago keeps his gaze at the Palace and says: "The boy is heedless still, Migs. Ignorance is bliss, even you know this. He should let the past rest as we all should. There is no need for digging into it. That would only lead to trouble, something that would bring disharmony to the clan."

To Migs, things are clear: Verago is holding something back. Something he knows that causes distress over the former queen of Vallestrella. He can tell Verago is becoming his self once more, so continuing on that subject seems unwise. Instead, he's bringing up a different matter: "Chief Zephyr always attends this meeting. Normally, he accompanies us to the Palace. Yet, I have not seen him. Should he be on time?"

"Of course. My bet is that he is there already, alongside with Tornado. She will be attending this time as well."

*Ow, great! I was hoping I could avoid her for the rest of today… Ah well, this meeting should only take a little of my time.* Migs thinks disappointingly and looks at the Palace with a dull gaze.

Arriving at the Palace, the three of them indeed see Zephyr waiting for them. By his side, they find Tornado, seemingly grown dull of waiting for the meeting to commence.

"Ah, it is good to have you all here. I feel assured with such fine Jaquins as yourselves around me.' Verago states calmly and lets his gaze go past all attendees before he continues, 'This meeting heralds the end of Solyestra for this year. Without further ado, I will commence the meeting as we are late as it is. Now, there is something I want of my chest direly. It concerns one of my faithful Royal Guards. I have witnessed Veje commit a foul act against my eldest son by throwing a piece of food at him. This requires repercussion that I have yet to decide upon. However, everyone knows that I can never condone such actions, not from anyone!"

Verago states his last sentence with emphasis. It leaves Migs and Dulce look shocked and eye each other before Migs says: "Well, this is unfavourable news. My bet is that he wanted to get even with your son for what happened earlier today at the woodland. Still, this makes for a shameful and unnecessary act of vengeance in my book."

"Hmm…" Verago responds thoughtfully.

Tornado uses this moment to step in. With an aloof attitude over Veje, she says: "King Verago. I say Veje needs punishment for the way he acts nowadays. Not only for what he did to Skylar today but also for bringing danger to the hunt two days ago and getting hurt in the process."

Verago eyes Tornado for a brief moment, apparently gauging her mood. "Is that so?' he asks slowly with an intonation that deems it rhetorical and he shakes his head, 'Nah, he is better off being disciplined than punished. I know just how to do this. If he no longer desires to follow the rules, then he needs them taught again. Does anyone else share this view?"

Tornado grunts little and adds curtly: "I am sure you know my take on this, king Verago, but I will gladly repeat myself to make it clear even more: remove Veje from the Royal Guard! I value every one of their positions dearly but I cannot say so of Veje. He never was chosen by you for his qualities in the first pla…"

Tornado suddenly stops speaking the moment she hears her king snort violently, a cue that he's grown annoyed. "Noted, yet I must add that this is not the moment to get personal.' Verago replies strictly yet continues calmly as he approaches Tornado, 'I know you want to replace him for some time now. However, that is not your call to make. It is but fair that I will have a word with him first. Tornado, one day you will become a proud member of the Royal Guard. I have strong faith in your dedication and loyalty. In this, your father was no different. You will get to prove yourself in his memory, and I know this will make you proud. Rest assured, your time is still to come. With this said, I will prepare my decision over Veje."

Zephyr then steps forward. "King Verago, I have something to report of a different matter.' he says in a dignifying manner and continues after receiving an agreeing nod from Verago, 'Today I noticed Tudor acting like himself again, and we all know too well what I mean by this. If I may say so, I will deem it justified if he were to be put in his place before he galvanises others in doing the same."

"Hrm. Indeed, we all know Tudor and his unnecessary calls for bantering. Well, I think I heard enough for now. Even though the plot of this meeting seems to thicken, I will prepare my decision on the matter concerning Veje over a good night of sleep. I will execute it tomorrow during the briefing of the Royal Guard. But before I conclude this meeting, I shall first summarise Solyestra as is customary. Today was once more a pleasant one! We have done well to relieve ourselves from troubles and enjoyed ourselves richly, and the cubs have learned more about the Sunbirds. I deem today a success, much like last year!" Verago states amiably and the others nod agreeingly in ardour.

As the meeting draws to a close, Luna lies comfortably with Cruz when she suddenly notices something from the corner of her eyes. A silhouette had just appeared right next to her on her left. Out of fear, she hastily looks up and at that point, she releases a brief and frightful shriek. Someone's indeed standing really close to her, almost wing to wing. "You do not see the pretty ones from up this close very often, right una Luna?" Dióntan says lovingly yet bearing a smirk revealing he's clearly enjoying himself in this moment.

"Will you _never_ do that again? My heart skipped a beat and I feel older already! Besides, that talking does not work on me. I am spending valuable time with Cruz now!"

Cruz smirks at Dióntan and replies in a sulky manner: "Obviously. So, what is with this 'una Luna'? It sounds…"

"Nice, now I think about it. Yep! There is only one of me, alright!"

"Sure is.' Cruz responds quickly yet without emotion as he feels Luna shouldn't act this vibrant at Dióntan's comment and continues flatly while eyeing Dióntan, 'Well, I am off back to Avalor. I have important stuff to do being the Navegera and all… More important than whatever you will be doing."

"Wooing Luna." Dióntan inaudibly whispers.

After saying this, he smirks at Cruz knowing this will only build the tension between them. Cruz returns the gesture by squinting his eyes at Dióntan out of disdain before he readies himself to take off. "Well, see you around, Luna. A fine lady like yourself should only mingle with the likes of me."

"Uh, sure…' Luna says reluctantly over his latter statement but disregards it and continues in a loving manner, 'Bye, Cruz! See you later…"

She waves a wing at him as he takes to flight. She then turns around towards Dióntan. She gazes strictly at him, giving Dióntan the idea he's about to be questioned over something he'd done wrong. "So, what is it that you want?" she asks him rather sternly as if he's the reason Cruz took off.


	22. By royal decree

Expected date of upload: May 2, 2020

* * *

_Summary__ will be supplied soon._


	23. A frosty touch

Expected date of upload: June 6, 2020

* * *

_Summary__ will be supplied soon._


	24. Evasive manoeuvres

Expected date of upload: July 4, 2020

* * *

_Summary__ will be supplied soon._


	25. Veje's banishment

Expected date of upload: August 1, 2020

* * *

_Summary__ will be supplied soon._


	26. Search and resuscitation

Expected date of upload: September 5, 2020

* * *

_Summary__ will be supplied soon._


	27. Bonus: The Sizdah-Rakhed

Expected date of upload: October 3, 2020

* * *

**Summary**  
_Southeast of the kingdom of the Jaquins lies that of the Sizdah-Rakhed, a species looking much like Jaquins in being a cat species with bird wings. They are Persian speaking and sentient, being an Asiatic cheetah with buzzard wings. Both the Jaquins and the Sizdah-Rakhed hold a diplomatic meeting annually to celebrate their peaceful coexistence and share time setting aside cultural differences._


End file.
